Rabat — The key role of human capital in the growth of Developing and Emerging Countries (DEC) within the current, transforming, global context is at the heart of discussions at the 12th International Colloquium of Rabat, taking place this week on 15-16 November under the theme "Human capital and international exchanges".
"In the next two days, we will discuss human capital and international trade, two themes strongly related to each other. Human capital is a key factor for the production of goods and services exchanged on the regional and international levels. The competitiveness of goods and services depends on the efficiency and productivity of the human capital, which must be constantly improved thanks to science, technology and engineering", said Lilia Hachem Naas, Director of the ECA Office for North Africa at the opening of the meeting.
Human capital is a key aspect of development and growth dynamics in developing and emerging countries; it therefore plays a major role in the integration of countries in regional value chains, the transfer of know-how, research & development, industrial valorization, and determines regions' ability to attract Foreign Direct Investment and economic diversification.
In a competitive, global market, countries need to design vocational education and training policies that improve the quality of human capital.
"The experience of Asian countries reminds us that investment in human capital, education and R&D allows the emergence of a dynamic that generates comparative advantages in international exchanges, as in the case of South Korea", said Azzedine Ghoufrane, Dean of the Souissi Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences in Rabat and WTO Chair at the Mohammed V University of Rabat.
The colloquium will discuss the human capital of Developing and Emerging Countries in a transforming and competitive global market characterized by a decline in national comparative advantages. In this context, the relationship between human capital and country competitiveness, their capacity to attract foreign investment, make regional integration a reality in the African and Mediterranean contexts play a key role in the design of targeted capacity building and job generation policies.
The international Colloquium of Rabat is an annual event organized by the Souissi Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Rabat in partnership with the ECA Office for North Africa, the WTO Chair of the Mohammed V University of Rabat and LEAD (University of Toulon Laboratory for Applied Economic Research in Development).
This year, new partners have taken part in the organization of the colloquium, including the UN African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), the Faculty of Education Sciences, the WTO Chairs Programme as well as the Laboratory for Legal and Political Studies and Research (LERJP) of the Mohammed V University of Rabat.
On Friday morning, a plenary session will be dedicated to discussions on youth employment through vocational training and the promotion of competencies in Maghreb countries as well as two PhD workshops for young researchers.
For more information about this event, please email ghoufraneaz99@hotmail.com or abdourahman@un.org.
Communication Team
Economic Commission for Africa
Office for North Africa
Tel: +212 (0) 537 548 749
