The draft cooperation agreement between Tunisia and Italy on the integration of young people in Italy took centre stage at a meeting on Friday between Social Affairs Minister Malek Ezzahi and Italian Minister of Labour and Social Policies Marina Elvira Calderone. Ezzahi voiced on the occasion, Tunisia's willingness to further foster partnership relations between the two countries, notably in the fields of migration, labour employment, social promotion, industrial relations and social security, according to a press release issued by the ministry. He underlined the need to consolidate the economic programme for the employment of Tunisians living abroad in their country through the "Tounesna" mechanism, pointing out the need to enhance this mechanism to open up employment opportunities, boost development in the regions and combat irregular migration. For her part, the Italian Minister for Labour and Social Policies indicated that social integration can only be achieved through employment opportunities, underscoring the importance of signing the cooperation agreement protocol between Tunisia and Italy on the integration of young people in Italy, which aims to reduce unemployment and meet the needs of the Italian market for Tunisian labour. Meanwhile, Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training Abdelkader Jammali pointed to the need to combat unemployment and irregular migration, announcing the launch of the preparation of the executive protocol to the Tunisian-Italian cooperation agreement for the integration of young people, which will be published and signed shortly. He affirmed that consultations are going well for the implementation of the pilot experiment in employment of migrants in Italy in the construction sector and the implementation of a number of joint projects in the employment and vocational training sectors with an estimated budget of pound 20 million, including 4 projects which will soon be operational.

Source: EN - Agence Tunis Afrique Presse