This article details how the strengthened joint work will focus on skills development and youth employment, as well as women’s economic empowerment, a just transition to a green economy, decent work in fragile contexts, and the growing synthesis between employment, trade and investment.

The ILO and the IsDB have signed a MoU to increase cooperation on labour market and wider economic areas of mutual concern. Joint work will pool the financial and technical resources from the two institutions to assist Member States in making investments and taking action in a number of priority areas. These include skills development and youth employment, as well as women’s economic empowerment, where work will focus on ensuring that young people and women obtain employable skills and support in moving from learning to earning.

Another joint priority area is the common agenda on a just transition to a green economy. The ILO and IsDB will provide advice to Member States on the right mix of policies and financing needed to ensure a just transition in the context of climate change. 

Current policy engagement between the IsDB and the ILO is taking place across a number of fields, mainly related to youth employment and skills development in Afghanistan and the Arab States region. Existing collaboration in promoting a just transition to a green economy produced the Youth Green Skills Accelerator Challenge, the winners of which were announced in a joint IsDB/ILO event  at the COP27 conference in Egypt earlier this month.