Bahrain is embarking on a new era of public administration revamp in the Middle East which will entitle it to be the main gate for administrative research in the entire Gulf and Mideast regions, said an expert.

The recently established MEPAR is the largest association for public administration institutions in the Middle East, stated BIPA director Dr Raed Bin Shams.

Shams was speaking at the conclusion of the 29th Conference of Public Administration in Manamain adding that Bahrain has utilized much of the know-how offered by the participants coming from 70 countries across the globe.

Bahraini researchers and administrators' working papers have left a huge positive impact on the conference as there was 49 out of 60 Bahraini working papers.

The equivalent of 78 per cent of the Middle East work papers have been accepted and met the acclaim of the conferees, says Bin Shams boasting that the participants have also lauded the administrative approach of the Bahrain Government which strives to upgrade administrative sciences and applications at all the official bodies in the country.

Bin Shams said that the success of Bahrain to host the international conference lies in the inclusion of Arabic as a third official language of the conference along with English and French.

According to him, Bahrain has also succeeded in incorporating many of the issues related to the public administration in the Gulf, Arab and Middle East regions.

"Arab women were strongly present as well, especially in the dialogue session held on the fifth day of the conference and dealt with Middle Eastern women's roles in public administration," he stated.

The participation of a number of ministers and senior Bahraini officials in the conference sessions has contributed a lot in reinforcing Bahrain's public administration status on the international map, observed Bin Shams.

In his address, he also lauded the contributions of  Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa Culture Minister, Samira bin Rajab, Minister of State for Media Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hussein Mirza, Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs, Fatima Al Balooshi Minister of Social Development, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed, Officer of the eGovernemnt Authority (eGA), Ahmed Al Bahar Former President of Civil Service Bureau, Adnan Al Manhood, the Information Technology and Knowledge Manager at Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) and Adel Hajji of the Civil Service Bureau.

He thanked His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa for his patronage of the conference, and extended thanks as well to Deputy Prime Minister, His Excellency Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, for inaugurating the international event.

"Bahrain, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, accords high importance to public administration  for its key role in the development of government institutions," remarked Bin Shams attributing  fast-paced progress and growth in the development of state institutions to the wise directives of the Prime Minister and the close follow-up of and tireless efforts of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister."

"All those efforts have resulted in the construction of an integrated and advanced system of government aimed at upgrading the capacity of its public officials and the development of key skills with regard to public administration, he added.-TradeArabia News Service