WGS DUBAI 2026: Minister of Labour meets UAE counterpart, discusses skills training and job creation

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Mohamed Rahman Swaray has at the World Governments Summit in Dubai met with his counterpart, His Excellency Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulmannan Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Minister Swaray thanked the UAE for its support to Sierra Leone over the years in various fields and also discussed the strength of bilateral relations between the two countries, including the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in 2021 providing a framework for cooperation in the field of labour migration. He commended the UAE for its labour reforms, noting that his country was desirous to learn from the UAE’s experience.

“His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has a very ambitious plan to provide jobs for our people who are young and ready to work. We want to address the issue of joblessness. We recognize the missing middle level manpower as a major issue. When we have a population ready to work, they are also ready to learn. We would appreciate cooperation in technical and vocational training and other areas so we can further equip our people with the requisite knowledge to compete in this ever-changing world of work” he said.

On his part, the UAE Minister commended Sierra Leone for its efforts in creating job opportunities and investing in the wellbeing of her people. He spoke on the UAE’s thriving private sector and the reforms undertaken to protect and upskill employees. He also discussed several ways through which both countries could partner in areas of growth and demand.

As a direct outcome of the meeting, the ministers agreed to form a joint technical working group that would work on skills development training programme, an initiative that would benefit Sierra Leonean workforce across the labour markets.

Earlier on, Minister Swaray also participated in the ‘Future of Work Forum’, a gathering of global labour leaders to discuss the future of the labour workforce in a vast changing global system.

© Sierra Leone Embassy, United Arab Emirates