The Labour Fund and the Unido Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Bahrain have signed a deal that will see both development agencies pooling resources and strengthening facilities available to the kingdom's private sector.

"We see this working arrangement as a landmark move between two bodies that pledge their commitment to work together for the betterment of the private sector in Bahrain," said Labour Fund vice-president for enterprise and human capital development Dr Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh.

"The Labour Fund has completed a year of pioneering work, putting in place a series of initiatives that strengthen private enterprise, make available world-class resources to entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who form the backbone of the growth engine in Bahrain and have opened the doors to human development initiatives that will make Bahrainis the employees of choice in the future.

"With this working arrangement, we will work closely with Unido to tap into the international resources that this world body has and offer our local perspective to tailor it to the specific needs of Bahrain," he added.

The move was welcomed by Unido's ITPO head Dr Hashim Hussein who said it was yet another step in the right direction for the strengthening of the Bahrain Arab Model.

"The remarkable success of Unido ITPO activities in Bahrain have led to several role-model programmes that have been adopted in other countries to nurture their private enterprise, especially the SME growth," he said.

"By working with the Labour Fund, we shall be creating a powerful engine of progress that will match Bahraini requirements to global resources through UNIDO and tailor them to Bahrain's unique needs.

"We are indeed looking forward to unveiling a strong raft of programmes with the Labour Fund," he said.

Unido ITPO Bahrain is designed to facilitate the mobilisation of foreign resources, technical, managerial and financial for enhancing industrial partnership between companies in Bahrain and other nations.

The main objective of the office is to contribute to the industrialisation efforts of Bahrain for promoting joint industrial investment opportunities, identifying and mobilising the technical, financial, managerial and other resources required for the implementation of specific industrial investment projects and fostering business co-operation through the promotion of domestic investment and the mobilisation of foreign direct investments.-TradeArabia News Service