Lebanon was represented by a tripartite delegation headed by the Minister of Labor, Dr. Mohamed Haidar, and included on behalf of the employers the Lebanese Industrialists Association, represented by the Association’s Secretary General of External Relations, Mounir Al-Bassat, the Association’s member, Patricia Al-Hashem, and the Association’s General Director, Talal Hijazi. The delegation also included the staff of the General Labor Union in Lebanon, headed by its president, Bechara Al-Asmar.
The participation of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists in this year’s conference comes within the framework of a broad agenda that addresses, in addition to issues of economic growth and social development, the effects of climate change on the work environment, opportunities for emerging institutions in light of digital transformation, and aligning education and skills development with the needs of the labor market, as well as the report on employment and unemployment in Arab countries.
These axes gain special importance in light of the need to move from diagnosing challenges to developing practical policies that enhance productivity and competitiveness, and support social protection and business continuity, thus contributing to the creation of more sustainable job opportunities.
The delegation of Lebanese employers contributed effectively to the work of the conference, by participating in the technical and organizational committees emanating from it, in addition to a speech delivered by Al-Bassat, in which he presented the most prominent economic, social, and labor challenges facing Lebanon, and the repercussions of the financial and economic crisis and the war on institutions, workers, and job opportunities, warning of the direct repercussions of these conditions on workers, especially the high rates of unemployment among youth, the decline in decent job opportunities, the expansion of the size of the informal economy, and the weakness of social security coverage, as well as the escalation of The migration of talent and skilled labor, and the exacerbation of the fragility of families that have lost their sources of income.
In this context, Al-Bassat sent four main messages to the sister Arab countries, regional and international financial institutions, international organizations and donors, and to the Lebanese social partners, calling on each party, according to its role and capabilities, to support reform and reconstruction programs in Lebanon, as the basic gateway to getting out of its current crisis and restoring growth and stability.
