AICS provides funds to UNIDO to create new jobs, business opportunities for youth and women in Jordan

AMMAN — Italy’s ministry of foreign affairs and UNIDO on Wednesday signed a funding agreement to bolster the creation of jobs and business opportunities for Jordanian youth, according to a joint statement. 

The agreement was signed by the director general of the ministry’s Development Cooperation Agency (AICS), Giorgio Marrapodi, and UNIDO regional director, Cristiano Pasini, in the presence of Italian Ambassador to Jordan Fabio Cassese. 

According to the statement, the agreement supports UNIDO’s “Job creation for youth and women through improvement of business environment and SME’s competitiveness” project, which works with Ministry of Industry to develop an information system on the industrial sector and produce market analysis. 

The statement added that the project will support the overall monitoring of industrial development. AICS Amman director, Michele Morana, highlighted the challenge of equal opportunities and productive employment, saying: “Whether it is starting a business, switching to a new job, or acquiring new skills, women and youth want to improve their business capacities. We encourage them to be competitive.”

The project plays a key role in enhancing investment and market opportunities for selected value-chain drivers of job creation, including self-employment, addressing youth and women in both urban and rural areas, according to the statement.  

The three-year project is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, and in line with the Jordan 2025 Government’s strategy. “This project is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework 2018-2022, agreed upon between Jordan and the UN. It aims at strengthening capacities of national institutions, in order to enhance the quality of its services, including policy making”, explained Sulafa Mdanat, UNIDO country representative to Jordan.

UNIDO and the government of Italy have been nurturing a long-standing, strategic partnership in the region, which has grown stronger over the years and led to a large portfolio of technical cooperation projects that UNIDO implements regionally with Italian funds, according to the statement.