[ecr]  The opening ceremony of this two-day conference took place in the municipality of Filfila, in the presence of Secretary General of the General Union of the Algerian Workers (UGTA) Salim Labatcha, Secretary General of the Arab Federation for Petroleum, Mining and Chemical Workers Imad Hamdi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Inspector General of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, general manager of the national companies of energy, mines and chemistry as well as about 100 representatives of trade union organizations of 17 Arab countries.

The participants in the conference, held in Algeria for the first time since the creation of this federation, aspire to find mechanisms of joint work to pool the Arab labor strengths of energy, mining and chemical sector and to achieve the joint Arab market through social dialogue amidst new challenges.

It also aims to discuss the 2017-2022 report of the Arab Federation for Petroleum, Mining and Chemical Workers and to determine the guidelines of the Federation’s action for 2022-2027, the Federation’s Secretary General Imad Hamdi told APS on the sidelines of the opening session.

The agenda of this conference comprises the discussion of 12 reports of the General Secretariat of the Arab Federation for Petroleum, Mining and Chemical Workers related to the organizational and financial aspects of the session 2017-2022, the election of a new secretary general for 2022-2027 and the final communiqué. [/ecr]