Cairo- (ILO News)- The ILO and the Norwegian Government  signed a cooperation agreement to support the creation of decent jobs, sustainable businesses, and more inclusive economic growth in two of Egyptian governorates: Qalyoubia and Menoufia. The agreement was signed on the 27th November 2016, by Mr. Sten Arne Rosnes, Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Egypt, and Mr Peter van Rooij, Director of the ILO Cairo Office.

The Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Sahar Nasr and the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Borge Brende witnessed the signing of this cooperation agreement worth USD 1.2 million for the implementation of the "Employment for Youth in Egypt (EYE) Project: Working Together in Qalyoubia and Menoufia", in the presence of European Parliament's members currently visiting Egypt.

From her side Dr. Sahar Nasr stated that in line with the President’s declaration that 2016 is ‘the Year of Youth'; this project aims to create decent job opportunities for young people in Egypt through implementing a number of training programmes with an objective to increase productivity, enhance innovation and support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for young people.

She added that the government is strongly committed to providing job opportunities through the development of small and medium enterprises, noting that the Ministry of International cooperation exerts efforts with its development partners to empower youth and develop their skills to start their own business, improve standards of living and positively contribute to developing the society and economy.  

“I am proud that today I contribute to launching a new horizon of cooperation between Egypt and Norway through which some challenges facing young people can be addressed. We will work in collaboration with the ILO to increase job opportunities available to young people in Qalyoubia and Menoufia governorates which suffer from significant challenges with regard to job opportunities." said the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Borge Brende.

The project depends on cooperation between the Egyptian government and the ILO and focuses on several aspects such as entrepreneurship, productivity and training for employment, besides facilitating communication with providers of financial services. I hope that this project will help youth access the labour market”, added Mr. Borge Brende.

Meanwhile, Mr. Peter van Rooij, Director of the ILO Cairo Office emphasized that the purpose of the project is to support job opportunities and the local economic development through enhancing the performance of partners to provide relevant services in the targeted governorates.