Labour ministers from 17 Asian sending nations and GCC receiving states concluded the 8th Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) Ministerial Consultation in Dubai on 1 February 2026 with a pledge to build ‘agile, skills-based’ migration pathways and clamp down on illegal recruitment. Chaired by Oman as current ADD president, the meeting produced a communique calling for mutual recognition of vocational certificates, digital worker profiles and expanded grievance-redress mechanisms. (en.aletihad.ae)
UAE host minister Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar said the Gulf needs to pivot from low-wage talent to “knowledge-intensive, green-economy” roles. Bangladesh’s adviser Dr Asif Nazrul urged fair-wage floors and faster visa processing for Bangladeshi technicians, noting that recent quota caps had cut deployments by 30 % year-on-year. (bssnews.net)
Key deliverables include a pilot ‘Skills Mobility Corridor’ that will allow accredited electricians from the Philippines and Pakistan to convert short-term construction visas into two-year renewable residence permits after onsite upskilling. The International Organisation for Migration will fund an interoperable blockchain ledger to track contracts and salary payments.
![Ministers at Abu Dhabi Dialogue adopt ‘Future-of-Work’ agenda to upgrade skills and protect Gulf migrant workers]()
For multinationals, the headline benefit is predictability: member states agreed to publish at least six months’ notice of changes to wage thresholds or medical-exam rules. Employers that join the Skills Mobility pilot may also gain priority quota allocations for 2027 projects.
For organizations and individual professionals eager to navigate these evolving GCC entry requirements, VisaHQ offers a streamlined pathway to obtain UAE permits and other Gulf work visas. Its user-friendly portal, real-time tracking and optional concierge support can shave days off application timelines, and its resource center (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) keeps applicants up to date on the very policy changes the ADD aims to signal in advance.
However, the communique is non-binding. Mobility managers should continue to budget buffer time for background checks and anticipate country-specific security-clearance backlogs—especially in the run-up to Expo City Dubai’s Green Tech Forum later this year.
UAE host minister Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar said the Gulf needs to pivot from low-wage talent to “knowledge-intensive, green-economy” roles. Bangladesh’s adviser Dr Asif Nazrul urged fair-wage floors and faster visa processing for Bangladeshi technicians, noting that recent quota caps had cut deployments by 30 % year-on-year. (bssnews.net)
Key deliverables include a pilot ‘Skills Mobility Corridor’ that will allow accredited electricians from the Philippines and Pakistan to convert short-term construction visas into two-year renewable residence permits after onsite upskilling. The International Organisation for Migration will fund an interoperable blockchain ledger to track contracts and salary payments.
For multinationals, the headline benefit is predictability: member states agreed to publish at least six months’ notice of changes to wage thresholds or medical-exam rules. Employers that join the Skills Mobility pilot may also gain priority quota allocations for 2027 projects.
For organizations and individual professionals eager to navigate these evolving GCC entry requirements, VisaHQ offers a streamlined pathway to obtain UAE permits and other Gulf work visas. Its user-friendly portal, real-time tracking and optional concierge support can shave days off application timelines, and its resource center (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) keeps applicants up to date on the very policy changes the ADD aims to signal in advance.
However, the communique is non-binding. Mobility managers should continue to budget buffer time for background checks and anticipate country-specific security-clearance backlogs—especially in the run-up to Expo City Dubai’s Green Tech Forum later this year.
