The President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, stressed the importance of developing efforts to eradicate poverty and provide a suitable environment for workers. A presidential statement said: 'The President met today with the President of the International Labor Organization, Gilbert Hongbo, and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Ahmed Al-Assadi.' During the meeting, developments in the situation at the levels of the economy, investment and trade union work were discussed, as the President of the Republic explained the extent of Iraq's need for the expertise of the International Labor Organization in the areas of training and qualifying specialized cadres in various sectors. The President stressed the need to activate communication and coordination mechanisms between the International Labor Organization and the relevant ministries and government institutions, especially the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as well as unions and organiza tions in Iraq. He explained the importance of developing efforts to eradicate poverty and provide a suitable environment for workers, working to raise their living standards, improving the relationship between the private sector and workers, and working to guarantee their basic rights in a way that achieves social justice. The President referred to the displaced, the necessity of integrating them into the labor market, and providing appropriate job opportunities for them to achieve a decent life in their areas of origin. In another aspect of the meeting, the activities of the Arab Labor Conference in its fiftieth session, hosted by the capital, Baghdad, and in which the International Labor Organization participates, were discussed, where the President expressed his wishes to the conference participants for success in providing job opportunities and improving the status of the working class. For his part, Gilbert Hongbo praised Iraq's efforts to improve working conditions and secure workers' rights, stress ing the International Labor Organization's keenness to expand the horizons of cooperation with Iraq in a way that serves the development of the labor market and supports and rehabilitates the private sector. Source: National Iraqi News Agency