President Vahagn Khachaturyan receives the delegation led by Director–General of the International Labor Organization Gilbert Houngbo

President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received the delegation led by the Director-General of the International Labor Organization Gilbert Houngbo, who arrived in Armenia to attend the first international labor conference held in Armenia.

The President welcomed the guests and attached importance to the conference held in Yerevan under the title "Advancing social justice: the future of labor in the modern era."

"I think the topic is very relevant not only in terms of specific professional, but also academic debates. You interpret social justice in terms of giving people opportunities. However, at the same time, there are cases when a different interpretation and approach is proposed which is more of socialist nature and was popular during the Soviet Union. I believe most importantly in today's conditions people should be given equal opportunities," President Khachaturyan noted.

The President expressed hope that cooperation between Armenia and the International Labor Organization will continue to be active in the future as well.

Director-General of the Organization Gilbert Houngbo expressed his gratitude to the President for attending the opening of the conference and the reception. "You rightly stated that social justice is quite diverse in all its manifestations," Gilbert Houngbo noted.

During the meeting, the sides discussed issues related to the protection of workers' rights and the activities of the engaged trade union organizations. The sides touched upon the reforms in the RA Labor Code in recent years aimed at ensuring social justice. In this context, the President expressed his gratitude to the Director-General of the ILO for active cooperation with the Armenian side and advisory support in the development of the new Labor Code.

During the discussion, the interlocutors also addressed the socio-economic and humanitarian issues the forcibly displaced population from Nagorno-Karabakh including the protection of their labor rights and employment. In this regard, President Vahagn Khachaturyan informed the ILO Director-General about the plans and steps taken by the government to this end.