“The Role of National and International Parliaments in support of the Economic Process” will be discussed in Tunis, on 28 November 2012, on the occasion of the Parliamentary Debate organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), as part of the UNIDO International Conference on Productive Work for Youth in Tunisia and the MENA Region (28-29 November, 2012).
UNIDO Director-General, Mr. Kandeh Yumkella, invited PAM to coordinate a special session where its Parliamentarians and major stakeholders will exchange views, share experiences and propose new initiatives in support of youth entrepreneurship and job creation. Sen. Lhou Lmarbouh (Morocco), President of the PAM 2nd Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, will also chair the concluding Conference Session on “Main recommendations for MENA countries in relation to productive work for youth”.
The PAM parliamentary delegation, with MPs from, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco Tunisia and Turkey, will present the activities of and promote the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean, the instrument through which over the past year, major sustainable development issues related to investments, trade facilitation, SME’s, job creation and alternative energy in the region, have been widely discussed with the leading stakeholders from the institutional and private sectors.
The Parliamentary debate in Tunis will focus, inter alia, on “Measures adopted at national level in support of Productive Work”, and “SMEs and Job Creation: obstacles, challenges and opportunities”. Examples of national policies, model initiatives and best-practices from PAM countries, such as Turkey, will animate the debate in order to strengthen the strategic public-private partnership, which is becoming ever so central for future structured developments.
The PAM parliamentarians will also have a series of bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic, the President of the Tunisian Parliament and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in order to express PAM’s support and commitment in assisting the democratisation process in the country.
Discussions will also be held separately with UNIDO Director General, Mr. Yumkella on future bilateral cooperation with PAM in the region. On that occasion, PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi will present the commemorative plaque to Mr. Yumkella, who was chosen for the PAM Prize 2012, for his support to the Assembly’s activities in the economic sector.