Tunis — A conference gathering representatives of research and strategic studies organizations from countries of the two Mediterranean shores was held on Friday in Tunis on the labor market in the Mediterranean, migration, regional integration and Euro-Mediterranean partnership.

The two-day meeting was organized by the Tunisian Strategic Studies Institute (ITES) and the Mediterranean World Economic Prospect Institute (IPEMED), in association with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The event is part of a set of meetings held by the prospective network initiated by IPEMED of which ITES is a co-founder.

Set up last April 21 in Paris, this network is tasked with conducting prospective surveys on certain sectors, such as environment, climate change, energy, employment and agriculture in the region.

Findings of these surveys will be submitted to the next Summit of the Union for the Mediterranean's (UFM) heads of State and Government.

It appears from participants' addresses on the theme "Employment in the Mediterranean by 2030" that the labor market in the southern shore countries is characterized by a weak rate of active population (45% in average), a high unemployment rate (13% in average) and a young population (31% aged less than 15).

About 22.5 million jobs are expected to be created in the region by 2030.