Minister of Labour, Dr. Mohamed Haidar, participated in the UfM High-Level Policy Conference on Employment and Work, held in Malta under the title “Exploring the Future of Jobs and Skills in the Mediterranean Region.”
The conference discussed the most prominent challenges and policies related to the future of work, especially in the areas of youth employment, enhancing women’s participation in the labor market, and developing workforce skills in countries of the region, with the participation of more than 200 individuals, including ministers, experts, representatives of the public and private sectors, and young entrepreneurs, in addition to academic and social organizations.
The conference was opened by the Minister of Interior, Security and Employment of Malta, Dr. Byron Camilleri, stressing “the importance of regional cooperation to promote sustainable and inclusive employment practices, and the role of the Union for the Mediterranean in supporting this path.”
As part of the conference activities, Minister Haider participated in a high-level panel discussion on exploring future skills, where he stressed in his intervention “the importance of balancing digital transformation with green development goals, and proposing a comprehensive strategy based on three basic pillars:
1 – Design comprehensive policies through social dialogue that ensure the inclusion of the voice of youth in policy formulation.
2 – Building basic green and digital skills through partnerships between the public and private sectors, through vocational training programs that respond to the needs of the labor market and enhance employability, especially in the areas of digital literacy and green sectors.
3 – The role of private institutions in training and qualifying new and existing workers in a way that is compatible with the specificities of each sector.
He stressed “the importance of integrating social protection within this vision,” noting “the necessity of facilitating access to social services through digital platforms, ensuring the inclusion of vulnerable groups and protecting informal workers.” In this context, he reviewed a number of initiatives that the Lebanese Ministry of Labor is working on.
On the sidelines of the conference, a series of bilateral meetings were held, most notably with the Minister of the Interior, Security and Employment of Malta, Dr. Byron Camilleri, where the possibilities of cooperation and labor exchange between the two countries were discussed, and the two parties agreed to continue working towards signing a future memorandum of understanding in this regard.
He also met with the Acting Head of the Middle East and Economic Cooperation Unit at the European Commission, where prospects for cooperation between the Lebanese Ministry of Labor and the Commission were discussed to support employment and vocational training policies and enhance social protection.
From Malta, Minister Haider went directly to the Qatari capital, Doha, to participate in the Conference of Labor Ministers of Islamic Countries, which is being held at the invitation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
During the conference, the Minister of Labor is expected to sign a contract for Lebanon to join the “Islamic Labor Center,” in addition to a cooperation agreement with the Qatari “Jusoor” Foundation, which deals with the employment file and providing job opportunities in the Qatari market, which opens the door to new horizons for employing the Lebanese workforce in Qatar and enhancing bilateral cooperation in this field.
