United Nations support for the private sector and job creation in Iraq

Sunday 18, October 2020 11:14
 
Baghdad / NINA / The United Nations Development Program in Iraq signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Planning to promote the private sector through micro, small and medium enterprises, create job opportunities and support the comprehensive growth policy.

A statement by the United Nations Mission in Iraq / UNAMI / that the Iraqi National News Agency / NINA / received a copy of said: “This Memorandum of Understanding provides a general framework for cooperation between the two parties to conduct a survey of micro, small and medium enterprises, through the United States Agency for International Development, to include three Iraqi governorates. It is Baghdad, Basra and Nineveh. "

The statement added: "The survey will build a comprehensive national approach and an understanding of the structure of MSMEs, their development trends and their mechanism of action in order to improve decision-making capacity by stakeholders on how to strengthen and develop these institutions and establish a sustainable economic base in Iraq, in addition to Identifying the opportunities and challenges they face, and support will be provided through updated and reliable studies and information on the labor market.

According to the statement, the memorandum covers important areas of cooperation, including the exchange of knowledge, data and documents that serve the purposes and scope of the survey, and the provision of necessary technical support, including the survey staff and qualified field personnel throughout the survey development stages.

The statement quoted Minister Khaled Battal Al-Najm as saying: “The signing of the memorandum of understanding is a true translation of the implementation steps of the private sector development strategy launched by the ministry in cooperation with the international partner, the United Nations Development Program, who expressed his strong commitment to its prominent role in the strategy by providing the necessary support to the central apparatus. For statistics, to implement the survey for small, micro and medium enterprises in the formal and informal sector of three governorates in the first phase, then it is followed by the inclusion of other governorates in the second phase, when health conditions improve.

For her part, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Iraq, Zeina Ali Ahmed, affirmed: "Small and medium enterprises in Iraq are facing great challenges that have been exacerbated by the outbreak of the Coronavirus, which has led to a reduction in the potential for growth and employment opportunities. The signing of this memorandum comes at a pivotal time and is an important step. Towards strengthening the role of the private sector in Iraq and will contribute to creating much-needed job opportunities.

She added, "This memorandum affirms the continuous and fruitful cooperation between the United Nations Development Program in Iraq and the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, the main partner in many of our initiatives, as well as our partnership with the donor represented by the United States Agency for International Development."

She explained, "The United Nations Development Program will provide the necessary technical support to prepare the survey and put in place recommendations that can help stakeholders in setting development policies for the economic sector." / End 3

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