President Calls For Stronger ILO-Pakistan Partnership On Jobs, Skills
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✧ GENERATE BRIEFING
President Asif Ali Zardari hosted International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo at Aiwan-e-Sadr, calling for an elevated, results-driven partnership centered on employment generation, technical skills development, enhanced workplace safety, and structured safe labour migration. During the high-level consultation, President Zardari emphasized that Pakistan views the ILO as an indispensable strategic partner, pressing for expanded technical assistance to fulfill the objectives of the Decent Work Country Programme (2023–2027).Highlighting the structural needs of Pakistan’s burgeoning youth demographic, the president formally proposed a comprehensive Pakistan Fair and Safe Labour Migration Framework—encompassing fair recruitment, standardized skill certification, transparent employment contracting, and seamless worker reintegration. He also pitched a dedicated ILO-backed initiative titled “From Skills to Global Jobs” to align national vocational training programs with evolving labour demands in international markets, urging ILO facilitation in opening robust labour corridors across the Gulf, Europe, and East Asia.
President Asif Ali Zardari has called for a stronger and more results-oriented partnership between Pakistan and the International Labour Organization (ILO), with a focus on employment, skills development, workplace safety and safe labour migration.
The president made the remarks during a meeting with ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo, who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr on October 6. Zardari said Pakistan considers the ILO a strategic partner and wants greater technical assistance and resources to implement labour-related programmes at the national level.
He highlighted the Decent Work Country Programme 2023–27, calling for stronger implementation in areas including employment, social protection, labour standards and occupational safety.
Labour Migration Framework and Global Jobs Initiative
The president also proposed a comprehensive Pakistan Fair and Safe Labour Migration Framework covering recruitment, skills certification, employer matching, migration costs, employment contracts, protection of workers abroad and their reintegration after returning to Pakistan.
Zardari further proposed an ILO-Pakistan initiative titled “From Skills to Global Jobs”, aimed at aligning Pakistan’s technical and vocational training with labour requirements in destination countries and creating better employment opportunities for Pakistani workers.
He called for ILO assistance in developing labour-migration corridors with the Gulf, Europe, East Asia and other emerging destinations. He also sought support to strengthen Pakistan’s labour-market information system following the country’s ratification of ILO Convention No. 160 on Labour Statistics.
International Commitments and Safety Standards
The president highlighted Pakistan’s ratification of three important ILO instruments in March 2025: the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 and ILO Convention No. 160 on Labour Statistics. He urged the organisation to help Pakistan translate these commitments into effective implementation through technical assistance and institutional strengthening.
Zardari also said Pakistan was finalising a National Occupational Safety and Health Policy and its implementation framework with ILO support. Houngbo reaffirmed the organisation’s readiness to cooperate with Pakistan on decent work, social justice, labour migration, skills development and occupational safety and health.
The proposed cooperation comes as Pakistan seeks to better prepare its large young workforce for international employment markets, while improving labour standards, worker protection and the country’s ability to benefit from overseas employment opportunities.
