More than 400 participants consisting of international administrators and academics are attending the International Conference of Public Administration that opened in Bahrain yesterday (June 2).

The 29th edition of the conference, being held in Bahrain and running until Thursday, is being held under the patronage of HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Held once every three years, the conference is organised by the Bahrain Institute of Public Administration (Bipa) in collaboration with the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) and the World Association of Schools and Institutes of Public Administration (IASIA). The theme is "Future of Public Administration: Leadership and Professionalism".

For the first time in the history of the conference, 29 working papers will be presented in Arabic after Arabic was adopted as the third official language along with English and French.

Bipa director Dr Raed bin Shams welcomed the participants, praising the huge support provided by the government to ensure the success of the event.

He said that Bahrain has succeeded in obtaining the support of regional and international organisations in the public administration field after Bipa announced the establishment of a Middle Eastern research group specialising in public administration sciences, MENPAR.

He pointed out that MENPAR is the largest gathering of public administration bodies in the Middle East, and will be one of the most important groups in the region as local governments seeking solutions to public administration issues take the help of Arab-speaking international organisations concerned with public administration in the Middle East.

Culture Minister Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa attended the annual meeting of IASIA held on Saturday. Welcoming the participants, she stressed the importance of public administration in the development and progress of peoples and communities in the world.

Dr Bin Shams described IASIA aspirations as compatible with the aspirations and ambitions of Bahrain on upgrading its public administration.

Bipa assistant director general Dr Sofian Sahrawi presented a brief overview of the main theme of the conference: "The Future of Public Administration: Leadership and Professionalism" and said that this issue is important because governments face challenges at all levels of governance.

Jordanian Public Sector Development Minister Dr Khalif Al Khawaldeh reviewed the Jordanian experience in public administration and pointed out that changing environment, fast-moving events and renewable data are likely to make it necessary to have a new different look at public administration, stressing the need to maintain a balance between short-term and long-term concerns without prioritising or delaying.

The meetings of the work teams and panel discussions will be held today, the third day of the conference. – TradeArabia News Service