Liaison Office for Arab Countries (ISSA)

The International Social Security Association (ISSA) is the leading organization in bringing together social security administrations and agencies worldwide. It was founded in 1927 and headquartered in Geneva under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ISSA assists its members in facing challenges and developing their own systems through collaboration, research, and information production and transmission programs. The ISSA promotes excellence in social security administration through career guidelines and support services to enable its members to achieve social security.

The ISSA has regional structures that play a key role in the implementation of activities to strengthen social security and to achieve the objective for which the International Social Security Association (ISSA) was established. The countries have been grouped together on the basis of geographical, social, linguistic and cultural policy relations. These regional structures allow for cooperation among members and facilitate communication to promote the exchange of good practices among social security institutions.
The ISSA Liaison Office for Arab Countries was established in 2005. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was the first host country of the Liaison Office. In 2022 the LO has been transferred to Public Institution for Social Security in The State of Kuwait. The Liaison Office promotes regional cooperation in the field of social security and supports the ISSA through the promotion of its products and services, and the organization of events.
The ISSA Liaison Office for Arab Countries is considered as a link between the Arab Countries and the ISSA General Secretariat. The Liaison Office connects with the Arab countries to collect information on the specific
needs of the region and cooperate in the design of programs for the development of Arabic-speaking countries in order to achieve innovation and excellence in social security according to the vision of the ISSA, which is that social security is a basic human right.
The ISSA announced the selection of the State of Kuwait to host the ISSA Liaison Office for Arab Countries, and accordingly, the office was opened on February 3, 2022 virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Liaison Office falls under the Department of Actuarial and Insurance Studies at the Public Institution for Social Security to become the main coordinating center for social insurance organizations, in order to transfer knowledge between organizations and to enhance cooperation in the field of research and studies.
The ISSA Liaison Office for Arab Countries looks forward to continuing the usual efforts to carry out responsibilities in developing and strengthening the social security system, preparing strategies and future visions for the social insurance systems of the Arab countries, and participating in finding appropriate solutions to meet the challenges facing social security systems in the coming years.