weekly Summary of GCC States (105)

GCC

Expert says closing gender gap in enrolment and degree choices should be priority with emphasis on job training. Economists and scholars on Tuesday shared views on a roadmap for an education system that can meet labour market requirements across the GCC region.
A senior Iranian military official told Gulf States yesterday not to squander money on US missiles, boasting that Iran can render them useless, and the state news agency IRNA reported. Tehran had on Wednesday slammed plans by the United States to beef up defences in the Gulf against potential Iranian missile attacks, with the Islamic republic insisting it posed no threat to its neighbours.
Kuwait's immigration bureau has directed to not allow maids into the country unless their sponsors had the approval from the police. Kuwaitis and residents in the past could send the visa and the plane ticket to the recruited helper without resorting to a manpower office. The new measures, according to unnamed sources, aims to ensure that the maids had a police clearance from their home countries.

Labor Front

In Bahrain, A plan to replace the current sponsorship scheme or kafala system is under study by the cabinet. The Ministry of Labour has made a proposal to the cabinet laying out the framework for a new employment system for expatriates, a cabinet source told Gulf News on condition of anonymity. The plan is currently under discussion and no decision has been made yet on approving it, said the source, refusing to divulge details of the proposed system. A leading Bahraini lawmaker has expressed "tremendous concerns" that claims about Al Qaida in Yemen threats to world security would turn out to be as baseless as the ones made about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction. "Al Qaida in Yemen has been given incredibly impressive proportions which it does not deserve," Adel Al Mouawda, an MP representing Al Asala, said.

Human Rights Front

A Bahrain women's rights group has stepped up pressure to make the citizenship issue among the top priorities in the application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
UAE remained in 2009, as in the year before, at third place in press freedoms among Arab states, following Kuwait and Lebanon, according to the Index. The UAE took a major step backward in press freedom last year. That is according to the latest Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, and confirmed by prominent media personalities in the country.

Health Issues

Oman’s Health Minister, Dr Ali Bin Mohammed Bin Moosa, told 84 elected Shura members that the country’s health services were under pressure and the ministry had plans to open more hospitals to cope with it.

International Front

Qatar and Iran are expected to sign agreements in oil and gas industry, tourism, investments and other important fields to boost their economies.