Minister of Labor and Social Development Dr. Ali Al-Ghafis will head a tripartite delegation comprising Saudi government officials and representatives of employers and workers to the 106th session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva from June 5 to 16. Titled "Building a future with decent work," government officials, employers and workers representing 187 member states will take part in plenary and technical committees that draft reports and conclusions and forward them to the plenary for adoption. On the sidelines of the conference, the Saudi delegation will meet with representatives from member states including labor ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The high-ranking Saudi delegates will also participate in the Palestine Solidarity Forum and Coordination Meeting of GCC Labor Ministers to agree on priorities and points of discussion before they represent them at the ILC. The participants would discuss reports of the chairperson of the governing body and of the director general titled "Work in a changing climate: The Green Initiative". The conference's program and budget proposals for 2018–19 will be up for discussion, in addition to exploring the report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. The delegations will discuss such topics as labor migration, employment and decent work for peace and resilience. There will also be a recurrent discussion on the strategic objective of fundamental principles and rights at work in a follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization 2008. The ministry's participation comes within Saudi Vision 2030 aiming to enhance international relations and benefit from international experiences in order to generate decent job opportunities, reduce unemployment rates, increase women participation in the workforce, support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and raise the contribution of the nonprofit sector. The Kingdom joined the International Labor Organization in 1976 and endorsed its first agreement out of 16 ILO agreements in 1978. — SG
