Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air has signed a MoU with the eGovernment Authority making it the official carrier for the 2013 United Nations Public Service Forum, Day and Awards Ceremony.

The event will be held in Manama under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad from June 24 to 27 and is expected to attract over 700 leading figures from more than 90 countries.

Bahrain is the fourth country in the world, and the first in the Middle East, to host and organise this forum outside the UN Headquarters in New York.

The MoU was signed by eGovernment Authority chief executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed and Gulf Air acting chief executive Maher Salman Al Musallam.

"This agreement comes as part of enhancing co-operation between the public and private sectors in several fields," stated Al Qaed.

"Hosting this forum in Bahrain is a multi-faceted leading initiative that contributes to achieving the goals of Economic Vision 2030, and interpreting the key principles of the vision through entering into international partnerships to boost economic growth," he added.

Commenting on the partnership, Al Musallam said: "Gulf Air is honoured to support the United Nations Public Service Forum, Day and Awards Ceremony 2013 and be part of an event that will showcase Bahrain on an international level."

"We are proud of our partnership with the eGovernment Authority and look forward to supporting and facilitating the arrival of participants to this event," he added.

Bahrain's hosting of the event was announced after the finalisation of the agreement between Al Qaed and the United Nations Economic and Social Council director Haiyan Qian, during their meeting in December last year in New York City.-TradeArabia News Service