Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood

Project Duration
2020 - 2024
Budget
€4.5 million
Status
Ongoing

Countries covered:

  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Libya
  • Morocco
  • Palestine *
  • Tunisia

Brief Description

The project will help policy makers and the private sector in the Southern Neighbourhood incorporate employment issues into trade and investment policies.

It will provide targeted assistance for the design and implementation trade and investment interventions that ultimately optimise the quantity and quality of employment created in the region, especially in the context of the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Countries covered: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine  and Tunisia

Objectives

  • Strengthened regional and country-level analysis of the impact of trade and investment policies on productive and decent employment in the partner countries.
  • Increased capacity of governments, social partners and other relevant stakeholders in the region to factor the employment effects of trade and investment into policy development, including policy dialogue.
  • Higher understanding of trade and employment impact of public infrastructure investments in the partner countries in order for key stakeholders to optimize employment creation in future planning.

Actions in brief

  • Strategic training at the regional level for policy makers, planners and social partners on the effects of trade and investment policies on employment.
  • Establishment of Policy Working Groups in selected partner countries with representatives from relevant government agencies for evidence-based policy discussion, coherent formulation of policies to enhance the employment impact of trade and investment policies as well as social dialogue in a tripartite forum.
  • Surveys of export-oriented value chains in selected partner countries to produce baseline data, studies and policy recommendations on promoting these value chains and enhancing employment opportunities in the Southern Neighbourhood.
  • Studies and validation workshops on the potential trade and employment impact of relevant infrastructure investments in selected partner countries.
Thematics
Employment & Entrepreneurship Sustainable Development