India to help Afghanistan in labour related areas

India and Afghanistan today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in labour-related areas. Minister of labour and employment Mallikarjun Kharge and Mohammad Ghous Bashiri, deputy minister in Afghanistan's ministry of labour, social affairs, martyrs and disabled, signed the MoU today.

Under the terms of MoU, India will provide technical support in developing a comprehensive employment strategy for Afghanistan in order to enable the Afghanistan government to tackle its major problem of large-scale unemployment.

India would also assist Afghanistan in the establishment and expansion of vocational training programmers as well as offer technical support in other skill development initiatives like procedures for certification, trainers for vocational training centres, selection of viable vocational skill, providing modular skills etc.

India will also provide technical support for drafting labour related rules and regulations for its new labour laws and in developing mechanism for better enforcement of labour laws.

India will provide technical support to Afghanistan in developing a policy to handle issues relating to child labour and designing the rehabilitation programmes on the lines of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) scheme of the Government of India.

India will also give technical support to the Afghanistan for establishing a Labour Research and Resource Centre in the country on the lines of the V V Giri National labour Institute in India, which will act as a nodal department for coordinating and conducting research, providing resources and conducting training on labour related issues.