President, Vice Presidents, Director-General Mr. Guy Ryder, Distinguished delegates of the 109th ILC,

1. I am speaking on behalf of ASPAG. ASPAG aligns itself with the cross-regional statement delivered by the Philippines.

2. First of all, let me join the congratulation to the adoption of the conclusion text by the General Discussion Working Party on Skills and Life Learning. On this occasion, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all members of this Working Party for your great efforts and hard work throughout these weeks on this significant topic. In particular, I would also like to convey my highest appreciation to the Chair of this Working Party, Her Excellency, Ambassador Ms. Eunice Kigenyi for her great leadership and sophisticated diplomatic skills that navigate all of us out of the jungle and, finally, embrace the light at the end of the tunnel. My cordial thanks also go to the spokespersons of the governments and social partners for your spirit of compromise and common aspiration to reach consensus on a strong call for ILO and its constituents to reinforce the efforts in the area of skills development and lifelong learning. The last but not least, I am really impressed and appreciate the incredible work done by the Secretariat, technical staff as well as interpreters. Without your support, we would not be able to achieve what we have in our hands so far. 

3. President! Distinguished delegates! ASPAG supports the the ILC’s endorsement of the resolution and its attached conclusion text and firmly believes skills and lifelong learning is a powerful tool to boost a robust recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and pave the way forward to achieve social justice, decent work and sustainable development in the world of work. We welcome the follow-up actions to this conclusion and are looking forward to a constructive and comprehensive conversation at the 346th Session of the Governing Body on a coherent, inclusive and gender-responsive ILO strategy on skills and and lifelong learning. With that, ASPAG would like to take this opportunity to renew our commitments to the engagement and cooperation with all ILO constituents for our joint efforts to advance this important agenda. 

I thank you, President!