G8 social summit to focus on unemployment issues

ROME. March 26. KAZINFORM A ministerial meeting of the Group of Eight on social affairs, to be hosted by Italy next week, will focus on international efforts to deal with unemployment amid the global economic crisis, the labor ministry of Italy said on Wednesday.

The meeting, to be held on March 29-31, has been organized by Italy in its role as this year's G8 president. "The (G8 social) summit will aim to discuss and review the possibility that steps taken by single countries on dealing with the unemployment problem -- in particular, providing aid for families hit by the crisis and helping the unemployed return to the labor market -- can be coordinated at an international level," the ministry said in a statement. The labor ministry said Italy has also invited welfare ministers from the Group of Five (G5) nations, namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, as well as Egypt to take part in the social summit. Representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) will also attend the meeting. OECD's Secretary-general Angel Gurria said last month that his organization would provide an analysis on the social effects of the economic crisis for this meeting. The G8 comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, Kazinform cites Xinhua.