Bahrain needs to establish a high-level recruitment authority that will research the best candidates for top government positions, says a leading economist and businessman.

One of the main issues that needs to be discussed in the National Dialogue is the mechanism used to appoint people to top government positions, said Dr Yousef Mashal, who will be participating in the Dialogue.

"We need an authority to evaluate people before appointments and this authority should do research the same way as a top recruitment company does," he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

"We have had enough of people appointed because of their name, family or sect, now it needs to be done according to qualification."

Dr Mashal said the Dialogue needed to tackle how to bring the old economic systems and laws in line with the reforms.

He said the country's leaders had put into motion economic reforms and an economic constitution in the creation of Vision 2030, but there were still many old laws and rules that need to be brought in line.

"We need to look at how to make Bahrain a real oasis for foreign investors and see how to bring in Foreign Direct Investment," added Dr Mashal.

He said more support was needed for small and medium enterprises, which represent more than 96 per cent of businesses in Bahrain.

"We need to work on this and see how to provide support for these businesses and how to enhance their production and competitiveness," he said.

"There is nothing wrong with the labour reforms law, it was accredited by everyone in the whole world and it is excellent but we need to work on the implementation of the system because it was not correct."

Dr Mashal said after the National Action Charter and Constitution of 2002, the National Dialogue was the next step of reforms to take Bahrain forward.

He said it still wasn't completely clear how the Dialogue would take shape, but he said it was important that participants put Bahrain first in their talks and not their particular party, religion or sect.

"Whatever is beneficial to Bahrain is what we should look for regardless of sects that divide people," said Dr Mashal, who is Mashal Group chief executive director.

He said the Dialogue should look at how to bring Bahrain together as one people with no sects and differentiation between people.

"We are more than 136 nationalities in Bahrain, all the religions of the world are here, it is a mix of all these people and we should all work together for a better Bahrain," he added.-TradeArabia News Service