Riyadh: The ministerial roundtable of the third edition of the Global Labour Market Conference (GLMC) concluded on Monday in Riyadh. The event was chaired by Eng. Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and saw participation from 40 labor ministers representing G20 countries and regions spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the roundtable also welcomed Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In his opening remarks, Houngbo emphasized the critical nature of constructive dialogue, describing the Ministerial Roundtable as a fundamental element for enhancing international cooperation. He underscored the goal of the roundtable to facilitate meaningful exchanges between ministers and senior officials, leveraging practical labor market experiences to identify future collaboration opportunities that can yield tangible results.
Key discussions during the event centered on enabling practical knowledge-sharing among the participating countries. This included aligning employment policies with future workforce readiness, identifying effective drivers for successful employment programs, and strengthening mechanisms to ensure coherence and integration across labor market policies.
The roundtable culminated with an agreement on six priority actions among the attending ministers. These actions include enhancing skills recognition and portability to support mobility across sectors and borders and guiding responsible use of artificial intelligence in labor market systems through transparent governance and oversight. Other priorities include adapting social protection systems to support worker mobility and career transitions, strengthening data and analytics usage to connect individuals with job opportunities, advancing workforce planning to anticipate disruptions, and improving pathways to first employment and re-entry into the labor market.
The Ministerial Roundtable, now in its third iteration in Riyadh, has established itself as a central pillar of the GLMC and a leading global platform for evidence-based dialogue and international cooperation on the future of labor markets.
GLMC 2026 is supported by strategic partnerships with prominent international organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), King’s Trust International, UN Tourism, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk).
The Global Labour Market Conference is being held on January 26 and 27 at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center (KAICC) in Riyadh, under the theme ‘Future in Progress’. The conference gathers labor ministers, heads and representatives of international organizations, private sector leaders, academic institutions, policymakers, thought leaders, and experts from around the globe. The program features over 200 speakers across more than 50 sessions, with attendance exceeding 10,000 participants both from within the Kingdom and internationally.