GENEVA – The Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the International Labour Office (ILO) have signed a Cooperation Agreement to strengthen their collaboration and partnership. ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong and ILO Director-General Juan Somavia signed the Agreement in Geneva. The Agreement signals the commitment of both organizations to address labour and employment issues in the ASEAN region and promote social progress.
Under the Agreement, the ASEAN Secretariat and the ILO will deepen their collaboration in the implementation of programmes and projects, including in the areas of occupational health and safety, HIV/AIDS and the workplace, the employment implications of trade liberalization, youth employment, vocational training, social security and labour migration. The two agencies will also cooperate in the exchange of information, research studies, and representation at working level meetings.
ASEAN, comprised of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, has a population of more than 560 million spending more than US$400 billion every year, and a labour force of 330 million. Between 2000 and 2006, the ASEAN region performed at an annual average real GDP growth rate of 5.7 per cent. The region’s unemployment rate, however, has increased from 5 per cent to 6.6 per cent during the same period. Exports from ASEAN totalled US$650 million in 2005, accounting for around 22 per cent of Asia’s total exports.