New York Forum musters help for African jobless

 

One of the biggest challenges for Africa is how to provide employment opportunities to its youth, the New York Forum AFRICA has heard.

"If Africa's youth is left without educational jobs, growth will be pointless," said host country Gabon's President Ali Bongo Ondimba at the three-day forum, which ended on Sunday in the capital Libreville.

"Young people will be without hope if they cannot find a place in our growing economies. Our countries' growth must be inclusive and people-oriented."

The forum gathered some 1,000 participants, including business leaders, politicians and decision-makers to discuss growth opportunities for the world's second most populous continent.

They heard that 65 percent of Africa's total population was under the age of 35, of whom about 35 percent were between 15 and 35. Youth account for 60 percent of Africa's unemployed, according to estimates by the World Bank.

"If the employment problem can't be solved, Europe would be inevitably affected as many immigrants would go to European countries to look for jobs," said Idriss Deby Itno, president of Chad. "So Africa should develop itself and create conditions to tackle this challenge."

Deby Itno said Africa and its partners should make the best use of its natural resources to produce more value-added products locally and also construct more infrastructure, which would promote trade and business exchanges among African nations.

He added that China has pursued a complementary approach with African countries in this process, which was a real "win-win situation" and a mutually beneficial partnership.

"All the players and partners of Africa should act in a similar way," said the Chad president.
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