IOM and the Arab Labour Organization (ALO) are organizing a
regional meeting on the temporary employment of Yemeni workers in
countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The two-day forum, which opens on 27 November in the Yemeni
capital Sana'a, will bring together high-ranking government
officials from Yemen and the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) to discuss
partnerships aimed at facilitating labour mobility between Yemen
and the Arabian Gulf States.

With a growing population, expected to double to 60 million
people in 2050 (almost half of them younger than 24 years old),
offering sustainable forms of livelihood to Yemeni families is key
to reaching development targets in Yemen.

As a result, the government of Yemen has listed the employment
of Yemeni workers in the GCC in a recently launched 10-point reform
plan aimed at promoting national growth and stability.

"Increased cooperation in the field of labour mobility will
enhance regional integration and facilitate Yemen's bid to join the
Gulf Cooperation Council as a member state in the future," says
IOM's Regional Representative for the Middle East, Pasquale
Lupoli.

More than 15 million workers from a number of Asian and Arab
countries are currently employed in the six GCC countries, a 20 per
cent increase since 2005. Structural factors such as demographic
trends, economic growth and demand for goods and services mean that
Gulf States will continue to need migrant workers with different
levels of skills and expertise.

According to the World Bank, some 600,000 Yemenis work abroad,
including more than 430,000 in Saudi Arabia alone. In 2009, they
sent home more than USD 1.5 billion in remittances.

The meeting, part of regional cooperation efforts between IOM
and ALO, is funded by IOM's 1035 Facility. The Facility provides
special support to IOM Developing Member States and Member States
with Economy in Transition for the development and implementation
of joint government-IOM projects to address particular areas of
migration management.

For more information contact:

Roberto Pitea

IOM Cairo

Tel: +2 012 3125886 23580011

E-mail: "mailto:rpitea@iom.int">rpitea@iom.int

or

Fawzy Al-Zioud

IOM Sana'a

Tel: +967736990052

E-mail: "mailto:fzioud@iom.int">fzioud@iom.int