Na Republic démocratique du Congo and Israel don enter new level for their bilateral cooperation. Di Congolese Minister of Employment and Labour, Ferdinand Massamba wa Massamba, na im dey for official mission for Jerusalem, wey im and im Israeli counterpart, Yariv Levin, don agree to lay ground for sectoral partnership agreement wey go support youth employment policies, green jobs development, and technological innovation for DRC.
Dis mission na part of di move to revive diplomatic and technical relations between di two countries. Di Congolese delegation include di director general of di National Employment Office (ONEM), di deputy director general of di National Institute of Professional Preparation (INPP), plus a team of experts.
Di mission follow di push wey President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo and im Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog dey make to strengthen cooperation between Kinshasa and Jerusalem around projects wey get high socio-economic impact.
For di heart of di discussions, two priorities of di Congolese government dey: di presidential program “Jeune Debout,” wey focus on youth empowerment and job insertion, and di National Plan for Development of Green Jobs, wey want make ecological transition become a source of job creation.
During dia stay, di Congolese officials visit several Israeli vocational training centers to learn from di mechanisms wey help Israel keep one of di lowest unemployment rates for di world. Di Congolese authorities want to adapt di Israeli ecosystem of innovation, sustainable agriculture, and circular economy to dia own context.
According to Minister Ferdinand Massamba wa Massamba, di negotiations don reach a decisive stage. “Di objective don achieve because we don put di foundation. In fact, di agreement dey under processing for my cabinet and my experts dey work am too. We go agree on a date to come and sign am. I dey happy, I dey glad because Israel na country wey get advanced technology and very high-level expertise. Wetin shock me pass na di unemployment rate for Israel, wey dey around 3%. For reality, na just transition period between training and employment. Na dat experience we want to capitalize to understand di methods wey reduce unemployment so much. Dis na a very profitable mission for di government,” e yarn.
Di Congolese minister believe dis cooperation go help accelerate national reforms for vocational training, youth employability, and sustainable job creation. For im side, Israeli Labour Minister Yariv Levin highlight di complementarities between di two countries. According to am, di combination of Israeli technological know-how and di abundant human and land resources of DRC open wide perspectives for development. “We get a very fruitful discussion about di potential for mutual cooperation between our countries. I think Israeli technology, especially for agriculture, combined with di strength of DRC in terms of workforce and land, can be very beneficial for both our countries. Dis combination can contribute to global food production, and also create plenty jobs for DRC and develop products for export. I dey happy to continue dis cooperation with you, Mr. Minister. I thank you for dis visit and I sure say di perspectives for our relations be very promising and prosperous,” e yarn.
For Kinshasa, dis mission mark an important step for bringing im strategy for youth employment promotion to reality. By leaning on Israeli experience for innovation, vocational training, and agricultural development, di Congolese government want to accelerate di implementation of dia reforms to create more economic opportunities for di youth wey dey face unemployment challenges.
