TEHRAN – The cooperatives, labor and social welfare minister of Iran, Mohammad Shariatmadari, and the human resources minister of Malaysia, M. Kula Segaran s/o V. Murugeson, discussed enhanced cooperation in the fields of employment, job generation and insurance.

The two officials met on the sidelines of the 108th Session of the International Labor Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 10-21, according to a report published on the Iranian ministry’s portal.

Shariatmadari announced readiness for implementing a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 2017, and said that a new MOU is also drafted which is awaiting Malaysia’s response.

“After years of cooperation with Malaysia, we know that economic opportunities for cooperation between the two countries are much greater than what already exists,” he noted, adding, so, we are interested in expanding ties in various fields of job creation, health and safety at work.”

“Moreover, we have helpful experiences in the field of workplace safety and health, entrepreneurship, employment, and vocational training, which can be exchanged,” he said, noting, “We can also cooperate on the exchange of workforce.”

“Given that Iran has a big working-age population who are well-trained and skilled, we are ready to dispatch them to Malaysia,” he highlighted.
Pointing out that specifying the fields of cooperation provides an opportunity to work together in practice, he added, “We are ready to host a Malaysian delegation of workforce in our country, as well.”

He further voiced willingness to enhance cooperation and exchange experience in the field of social insurance, health and retirement.
Murugeson, for his part, expressed satisfaction over bilateral cooperation, saying that one of the areas for cooperation can be social security, as all those working for the private sector must be covered by social security insurance. 

He went on to say that currently taxi and bus drivers are covered by social security in Malaysia, adding, “We also tend to cover housewives in the near future.”
Inviting the Iranian official to Malaysia, he concluded that his country is interested in exchanging workforce with Iran.

This year the 108th International Labor Conference brought together over 6,000 delegates from around the globe to find solutions to the challenges of the future of the world of work, and celebrate the Centenary of the International Labor Organization.

The conference, which is often called an international parliament of labor, has several main tasks.
The crafting and adoption of international labor standards in the form of conventions and recommendations, supervising the application of conventions and recommendations at the national level, and representing a forum where social and labor questions of importance to the entire world are discussed are some of the main tasks.

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