A two-day regional consultative workshop has been organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Biratnagar and Nepalganj with an aim to generate area and sector specific information on needs and priorities for poverty reduction. The workshop will discuss strategies, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders for the promotion of decent work for poverty reduction, with particular reference to Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and the 10th five-year Plan.The ILO is closely working its tripartite constituents and local stakeholders to ensure that the objectives of employment creation and decent work are introduced as explicit objectives of the poverty reduction strategy in Nepal, states the press release. In this regard, the ILO has prepared a technical report on “Decent Work for Poverty Reduction".With a view to discussing the draft report, ILO has started regional and national consultations with its tripartite constituents and local stakeholders in Biratnagar, Nepalganj, Pokhara and in Kathmandu. On the basis of inputs from these regional and national consultations, ILO aims to finalise the technical report for submission to the National Planning Commission.Addressing the inaugural session of the workshop in Biratnagar Leyla Tegmo-Reddy stressed that the ILO has been working closely with the National Planning Commission, employers, workers and line ministries, as well as other stakeholders to define strategies and programmes that would promote job creation and decent work in Nepal.Inaugurating the workshop, Khadak Bahadur Basnet, Chairperson of DDC, Morang stressed that our vision towards development should be clear and that there should not be any mismatching of planning and implementation. He also hoped that the outcome of the workshop would be good feedback for the government to refine the programme.On the occasion, Morang Chief District Officer Dolakh Bahadur Gurung said that youth should be trained and prepared for foreign employment and a local development model should be developed to combat poverty. Professor P P Timilsina and other ILO officials from Geneva and Regional Office presented technical papers on the theme.Inaugurating the workshop in Nepalganj, Banke DDC chairperson Om Prakash Jung Rana highlighted that ignorance and lack of awareness is the major cause of poverty in Nepal. Bal Krishna Prasai, Chief District Officer of Banke opined that the government should create employment for youths through small and medium size enterprises.Professor P P Timilsina and Duncan Campbell and other ILO officials from Geneva and regional offices presented technical papers on the theme.