The 28th International Social Security Association (ISSA) General Assembly, dubbed as the most important worldwide social security forum, will be held in Beijing from Sept. 12 to 18.

"Some 1,500 participants have registered for the meeting, of whom 1,300 are foreign delegates, including nearly 50 ministerial-level delegates from countries such as Brazil, Iran, South Africa, Zambia, the United States and Australia," Hu Xiaoyi, secretary-general of the meeting's China National Organizing Committee, told journalists Monday.

With "Social Security: Securing Social Justice" as the theme, the meeting will discuss a wide range of issues, including most recent trends of social security, social protection of migrant workers and their families, investment of social security funds, said Hu, also spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

During the assembly, six plenary sessions will be held, with one specially focusing on issues on social security in China, he said.

The meeting is expected to pass a declaration, which will call for joint efforts to tackle social security problems the international community is facing, he said.

With 386 member organizations from 149 countries, ISSA is the largest and the most representative international organization in terms of social security. The ISSA General Assembly is held every three years.

China acceded to ISSA and became its affiliate member organization in 1994.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2004)