GENEVA, March 14. /TASS/. Russia is playing a major role in the activities of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), said Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, in an exclusive interview to Mikhail Gusman, TASS Senior Deputy General Director. He added that cooperation was focused, among other things, on such areas as youth employment, decent working conditions and development of social insurance.

“The Russian Federation, I mean the government, employers and workers, is playing a major role at the ILO. This is normal because Russia is important for all international agencies. But there is another factor regarding Russia – it is the culture of work, its value and place in society. Work is very important for the Russian people, and I appreciate this”, Mr. Ryder said.

“Our partnership with the Russian Federation is very solid”, the ILO Head continued adding that he visited Russia many times since 2012 when he took office of the ILO Director-General, in particular, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and Astrakhan. Among the priorities of cooperation between the ILO and Russia Mr. Ryder mentioned youth employment, decent working conditions and social insurance. Russia is very much focused on these issues, he said.

According to the ILO Director-General, he is “happy that Russia is attaching much importance to such a fundamental area of the ILO’s work as labour conventions which are international treaties establishing labour standards worldwide”. In this regard, Mr. Ryder praised Russia for having ratified the ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (No. 102) in 2018.