ILO Project Launch “Inclusive and Productive Employment in Moldova” Supported by the Swiss Confederation. Remarks of the UN Resident Coordinator for Moldova Mr.Simon Springett

I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome the ILO Director-General on his first visit to the Republic of Moldova; his team; and the tripartite Swiss delegation led by Mr Boris Zürcher, Head of Labour Directorate at SECO.

The launch ceremony of the ILO and SECO partnership today is an important step in creating better work opportunities.  Demographic challenges continue to cause a decrease in activity and employment rates. Employment in the informal economy remains common Close to 30 per cent of young people in Moldova are not in employment, education or training.

Against this background, the ILO and SECO combined efforts for employment promotion, skills development, and formalization in order to create labour market opportunities including youth, women and those living in rural communities, which will make an invaluable contribution towards elevating living standards. 

Our common goal is to support government priorities to transform Moldova into a modern and prosperous state, achieve the SDGs, and to make sure no citizen is left behind. With more than twenty-five United Nations agencies, funds and programmes active in Moldova, the United Nations is able to bring a range of technical and operational expertise to support the government.

The International labour Organization is an exceptionally important contributor to this shared goal. The ILO has a unique mandate of promoting decent work and creation of new jobs.  It is imperative that Moldova’s labour market becomes competitive enough to respond to foreign direct investment requirements with highly qualified and competent human resources.

This is a longer-term process which requires a broad range of activities starting from planning skills required to revision of school curricula and creating stimuli packages for the private sector to invest in people’s skills upgrade.  The ILO can also leverage its support by collaborating with development partners, and the Government, to stimulate productive employment for both the Moldovans and refugees seeking integration into Moldovan society.

A new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027 was signed in November 2022. The Framework represents a commitment to scale up our activities and help address the country’s development challenges in line with what the national priorities outlined in the National Development Strategy “European Moldova 2030”. The overarching vision of the new strategic document is to achieve a country where people want to live, fully exercising their human rights and enjoying a better quality of life in a more inclusive and resilient society.

The project we launch today, has this vision at its core.