FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The United States has vigorously promoted greater international dialogue on fundamental worker rights issues and encouraged more active engagement on these issues by the international financial institutions. We welcome today's meeting of the top officials of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). We believe high-level dialogue on the importance of advancing core labor standards in the policies, programs and operations of the international financial institutions is invaluable.

The World Bank and the IMF are continuing their efforts to systematically incorporate consideration of basic worker rights. We believe the Bank's strategy to combat child labor and the IMF's encouragement of greater dialogue with labor unions in country programs are welcome steps. Today's meeting is a clear sign that active collaboration and cooperation are increasing. The United States looks forward to greater systematic collaboration among these organizations in the future to make concrete progress in improving the status of workers around the world.