BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – His Majesty King Mswati III has urged African governments, the private sector, and the diaspora for the youth to support the new Africa Job Creation Forum.
The said forum is spearheaded by the African Union (AU), the Government of Ethiopia and the AeTrade Group.
His Majesty was speaking during the Strategic Investment Alliance for Africa (ASIA) meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly where he was represented by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo.
His Majesty urged the international community and all development partners to embrace the ASIA and find ways to collaborate, invest in, or support its institutional development at the early stages of its journey.
The King commended the African Union’s unwavering support for the work of the AeTrade Group with AU member states as well as diverse stakeholders. Eswatini holds the chairmanship of the AeTrade Group Southern African region.
“There is a significant gap between the number of young people seeking work and the limited opportunities available to them, with 19 million graduates and only 3 million job opportunities annually,”
“Moreover, there is a mismatch between the skills of young people entering the workforce and the needs of employers. This is clearly an unsustainable path for African countries and has significant global implications,” said His Majesty.
In addition to that, His Majesty said Africa reaffirmed her commitment to finding ways to mobilise innovative finance to be able to achieve our common goals.
“We challenge our friends from around the world to walk the walk with us, and in this way, nobody shall be left behind,”
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