Manama – The 8th of March marks a milestone in the relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UN Migration Agency (IOM), following the signing ceremony of a Cooperation Agreement that will pave the way for establishing official IOM presence in Bahrain.

Upon an invitation by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain, IOM’s Director General (DG), William Lacy Swing, visited Bahrain on 8 March to discuss strengthening Bahrain-IOM relations.

The signed Cooperation Agreement complements Bahrain’s 10 years of IOM observership and crowns the strong relationship between IOM and the kingdom, particularly through IOM technical cooperation with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA). This significant development will be the cornerstone for advancing cooperation between Bahrain and IOM in the fields of Migration Management and Counter-Trafficking.

DG Swing conveyed to His Royal Highness IOM’s support of his leadership and vision in the reforms of the Bahrain labour market, which will certainly make a positive impact on Bahrain and the region. He further assured of IOM’s firm support in advancing the priorities of the Government of Bahrain through its global expertise in the vast field of migration.

For more information, please contact: Mohamed El Zarkani, IOM Kuwait, +965 25308169, melzarkani@iom.int