The Diplomat
Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) will meet between today and tomorrow in Marrakech to discuss the most pressing challenges of the labor market in the Euro-Mediterranean region, in particular how to ensure an inclusive, digital and sustainable recovery for all and especially for the most vulnerable.
As reported by the organization, the Ministerial Meeting will be hosted by Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills of the Kingdom of Morocco, and co-chaired by Nicolas Schmit, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, and Nayef Stetieh, Minister of Labor of Jordan, in the presence of Nasser Kamel, Secretary General of the UfM.
“Countries on both shores of the Mediterranean have been severely affected by the pandemic, which has increased the pressure on the socio-economic challenges of the Southern Mediterranean countries,” according to the UfM.
In order to discuss these challenges, the Ministerial Meeting will cover several initiatives. Today, the political conference Employment and employability of the most vulnerable, especially among youth and women, will be held, which will be “an opportunity to further exchange information on the most pressing labor and employment challenges in the Mediterranean region and on experiences, good practices and learnings since 2019.”
Also, the UfM Secretariat and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will organize today an event on Women and Employment, which will present the UfM’s new youth strategy, the Moroccan strategy on women’s employability and UNIDO’s actions in Morocco to support women’s economic empowerment. The beneficiaries of UNIDO and UfM initiatives in Morocco will share their experiences through these projects.
The first day will be completed with the launch of the Team Europe Regional Initiative on Employment through Trade and Investment and the UfM Hub for Employment, Trade and Investment Promotion. The Team Europe Regional Initiative will assist Southern countries in their efforts to boost job creation through trade, investment and inclusive entrepreneurship. In addition, the UfM Employment Hub will reinforce the organization’s work in enhancing and developing innovative approaches to regional cooperation in the fields of employment, trade and investment in the Mediterranean; and complement the objectives of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI).
Tomorrow, the UfM ministers in charge of employment and labor will hold a Ministerial Meeting at which they will reiterate their commitment to promoting an inclusive economy through employment and social policies, in particular youth and women. This meeting will also contribute to elaborate the agenda for the coming years, towards an effective, genuine and inclusive employment policy, based on job creation, social dialogue, skills and employability, inclusive labor markets and the mobilization of all actors in the Mediterranean region.
