A call for the adoption of “industrial clusters” and “investment zones” in Arab countries

As the Arab Labor Conference at its 47th session tasked the Arab Labor Organization, which concluded yesterday in Cairo, to prepare a strategy on entrepreneurship, Arab officials stressed the importance of for Arab governments to adopt the idea of ​​creating clusters within the framework of Arab investment zones and integrating small, medium and micro enterprises into regional and international value chains and supply chains.
The call for the development of the strategy came in accordance with the axes contained in the report of the Director of the Organization on “Entrepreneurship and small businesses, the path of development and empowerment”, at a time when the organization was responsible for inviting Arab countries to support programs aimed at empowering Arab youth and building their capacities and skills to implement pioneering and innovative initiatives, and to establish twinning partnerships and cooperation with bodies and institutions of Arab and international organizations to stimulate scientific research, innovation and the exchange of expertise and experiences that would improve entrepreneurship among young people.
The conference called for the integration of the informal sector into the organized economy by offering incentive programs, creating benefits and developing the enabling and legislative environment that helps facilitate their integration. She called on Arab countries to provide the necessary facilities to establish Arab investment zones, especially in strategic industries that Arab markets need.
The conference called on Arab countries to provide a package of support for national initiatives that involve the allocation of a percentage of tenders and bids to entrepreneurs who own small, medium and micro enterprises, in addition to exchange experiences on the fight against the Corona pandemic and its social consequences and economic effects on labor markets to strengthen the resilience of projects, in particular small and micro-enterprises. Small developing policies for crisis management.
The conference recommended to strengthen strategies for the management of occupational health and safety at the company level by adopting technical prevention methods, disseminating and promoting a culture of digital transformation through the expansion of intelligent services, continuously developing the technical infrastructure to keep pace with the changing needs of the labor market. , exchange experiences and transfer successful experiences in the field of developing a smart working environment, and benefit from digital transformation to support small and medium-sized enterprises.