DAMASCUS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Syria is taking firm steps to bolster sustainable development and to create more job opportunities, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said here on Wednesday, the Syrian official news agency SANA reported.

    President Assad made the remarks during meeting with the visiting Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Juan Somavia.

    Both sides discussed the cooperation between the ILO and Syria, particularly in the fields of training and exchanging expertise, said the report.

    During the talks, Somavia briefed the ILO's cooperation with the Arab Labor Organization and national labor unions in Arab countries to confront the challenges of the current global economic crisis, saying that the ILO's agenda is to promote countries in the region to insure a balanced and sustainable future for growth and reducing unemployment rates.

    President Assad expressed his appreciation on the organization's efforts in that regard, affirming that Syria is taking firm steps to boost sustainable development, establishing a suitable investment environment through the modernization of relevant laws and creating more job opportunities based on respecting basic principles and the right to work.

    Both sides voiced the need to tend to the social aspect while implementing economic plans, noting that policies should benefit people with low-income and the poor class, since a healthy economy must benefit all the groups in society, according to SANA report.

    Somavia also affirmed his support for improving the situation of workers in the occupied Syrian Golan, who are suffering from difficult economic conditions and lack of job opportunities due to the Israeli occupation.