Minister of Manpower and Immigration Kamal Abu Eita stressed the importance of "developing labour training and educational institutes to decrease unemployment and create jobs," after his arrival to Paris on Saturday. Abu Eita added: "Egypt is in desperate need of cooperation with various countries in the field of training and public management." Abo Eita is set to participate in the Policy Leader's Forum on Public Management of Education, Training and Employment, which will take place in the city of Marseilles. The conference will be held on Sunday, where EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, will begin the forum. The conference will gather ministers and senior officials from the Arab states of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. Participants will include representatives of the European Parliament, as well as other EU institutions and organizations active in the Mediterranean countries. The former labour activist emphasised the "need of Egyptian participation in the Arab Mediterranean forum, where they will be discussing and reviewing the needs of the labour market in the Arab world," adding that the "system of training, as well as the education system, have been neglected in Egypt during the past, where they must be reactivated to solve unemployment." The minister highlighted the importance of the conference due to its "focus on issues of employment and training" after explaining that he "will explore the possibility of enhancing training opportunities in Egypt." According to Al-Ahram, the ministry's official spokesman, Alaa Awad, said: "The minister is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Egyptian community in Marseilles in order to check on overall conditions and reassure them [about] the general situation in Egypt." The minister has been under fire recently for his failure to meet demands regarding workers' unemployment benefits.
