UNITED NATIONS, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Thursday that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has charted a new course for international cooperation.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has charted a new course for international cooperation, tapped new drivers for world economic growth, built new platforms for relations among countries, and created substantial amount of job opportunities for countries along the route," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UN General Assembly's high-level meeting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

"The 82 overseas cooperative parks jointly built by China and the countries along the route have created nearly 300,000 jobs," he said.

Speaking of the second Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation, which will be held in Beijing in late April, the Chinese envoy said, "We're confident that this forum will further energize the 'Belt and Road' cooperation and make a greater contribution to the promotion of decent work for all."

The General Assembly held the two-day meeting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ILO with "the Future of Work" as its theme.

Founded in Geneva of Switzerland in 1919, the ILO is a UN agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labor standards. The ILO is the UN's first specialized agency, with 187 member states.