Bahrain participates in ILO Pacific Regional meeting

Manama, Dec. 6 (BNA): Labor Minister Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan headed the Bahraini delegation at the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on December 6-9. The conference is chaired by Singapore President Halimah Yacob along with delegations from 47 countries. "Singapore has been a member of the ILO since our independence in 1965. We are pleased and honored to host the ILOs regional meeting in Singapore for the first time having served on the ILO governing body for many years before I recall many fond memories, and your presence here today is certainly a delight to meet," the president said. "We collectively represent a region with enormous potential in rising influence. We account for more than half of the global population and more than a third of the global economy. The middle class, particularly in Asia is growing. Our workforces are becoming increasingly educated and digitalization is reshaping our economies. While we are in an uncertain economic environment, due to high inflation driven by rising food and energy prices, we have been resilient and adaptable in the face of past crises. I believe that we can emerge stronger from our present challenges." The president of Singapore stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the countries of Asia and the Pacific for the success of economic recovery plans, decent job opportunities, and the promotion of fruitful cooperation between the three production parties in the member states to serve development and production issues in this region and work to invest in developing the skills needed by the present and future labor markets. The conference focuses on the most important political, economic, and social issues in the field of work related to the countries of Asia and the Pacific in particular. The conference highlights ILO’s programs, in addition to projects and programs related to job growth, and the best successful experiences to confront the economic and social effects of COVID-19 on the economy and how to recover from them. The meetings also shed light on financial and investment policies in the labor markets, as well as the possibilities of investing in digital infrastructure to meet the future needs of skills and human resources, and the efforts of countries to promote equality between men and women in labor markets. The conference promotes the importance of improving productivity levels in enterprises and revitalizing skills as a means of job development, and building skills within institutions, especially for medium, small and micro enterprises.