Tunis: Meeting the needs of the national economy in skilled workforce is an absolute priority for the government, said Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Lotfi Dhieb. This found expression in the national reform programme, the development plan and the programme to improve the business climate, the minister told a delegation of advisers members of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Board of Directors led by Senior Adviser Laura Rovamaa Desmoulin. The government is seeking to tackle informal economy, the minister said. The actual implementation of the self-entrepreneur system in 2024 will help foster transition of large groups of employees to formal employment. This will help restructure their activity and broaden the scope of social coverage recipients. Dhieb commended cooperation with the AfDB as a strategic partner. This, particularly as its future plans are in harmony with the national guidelines in connection to speeding up the pace of creating private sector businesses through a joint pro gramme to boost the competitiveness of enterprises and economic empowerment to increase employability (CAP-EMPLOI). Periodic AfDB on-site visits are designed to expand areas of cooperation between the bank and its partners, Laura Rovamaa Desmoulin said. The AfDB delegation is paying a working visit to Tunisia on June 10-14 as part of the regular on-site follow-up of projects supported by the financial institution. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse