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DECP News 2008
.JPG) | | View of Tirana |
Albania : Support in setting-up new employers’ confederations From 19 to 21 November 2008, J.M. Standaert, special advisor of DECP for the Balkan- and Caucasus countries, visited Tirana with the aim to meet and exchange views with representatives of several employers’ organizations about the setting-up of new employers’ confederations.
He met the president and vice-president of the important Albanian Construction Association (ACA), Mr. Luigj Aleksi and Avenir Kika. Since more than one year, Mr. Aleksi is chairing a workgroup who is preparing the statutes of a new confederation which will group more than 15 sector organizations. He promised to accelerate the activities of the workgroup so that the new confederation can be set-up early 2009. Mr. Kika is also vice-president of the National Labour Council and the leader of the employers’ representatives.
During his visit, Mr. Standaert also met representatives of several sector organizations of the food and drink industries in Albania. As there is no umbrella organization for food and drink industries in Albania which could become the interlocutor towards international organizations, he urged those representatives to start negotiations for a new Albanian confederation of food and drink industries. He promised the support and expertise of DECP in their efforts. The new confederations should be ready before Spring 2009.
 | | Coat of arms Republic of Benin |
Cooperation with CNP Benin With the aim to define a cooperation programme with the CNP Benin, the employers’ confederation of the Republic of Benin, Jean-Marie Standaert, special advisor, paid a visit to Cotonou in the beginning of November.
He had several meetings and discussions with the president, Mr. Sébastien Avajon, with the secretary general, Mr. Viktor Kakeye, and his deputy, Mr. Jacques-Hubert Quenum, with members of the managing committee and with the Executive Director, Mr. Pierre Zanou, and the staff of CNP Benin.
He also visited the new premises of CNP Benin, in the centre of Cotonou.
Furthermore, a fruitful meeting took place with the second secretary of the Dutch Embassy in Cotonou, Mr. Max Valstar.
At the end of the visit, it was agreed that the Executive Director will prepare concrete proposals for improving the visibility of CNP Benin, via newsletter and website, as well as the development of new services.
.JPG) Fact finding mission to Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Hanoi A DECP delegation, consisting of dept. director Thieu Korten and special advisor Jean-Marie Standaert, visited Hanoi on a fact finding mission from 22 til 25 September. Several meetings were held with the General Secretary of VCCI and the staff of the Bureau of Employers Activities. Meetings with representatives of Ministries of Planning and Development and Labour and Social Affairs and the trade union gave a good view of the current trends and development in the Vietnamese society. DECP also had a short meeting with the PUM-representative in Hanoi and a briefing and debriefing session at the Dutch Embassy.
DECP investigated together with the VCCI the possibilities for future cooperation. A training programme on lobby, OSH (Occupational Safety & Health), communication for the VCCI staff and the regional network were mentioned as possible projects.
 Fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) From September 23-25 Jan Karel Bout and Bram Van Overbeeke visited the DRC on a fact-finding mission. The DRC is a so-called fragile country with an economy that is in deep trouble. According to the World Bank the business climate is the worst in the world.
Decades of dictatorship and mismanagement have led to a crumbling of the infrastructure, the educational system, medical care and many other essential sectors of the economy. Government bureaucracy is stifling entrepreneurship, leading to a large informal sector, estimated by some to be close to 90 % of the economy.
Against this gloomy backdrop, the DECP delegation was pleased to note the vision and determination of the leading employers organisation, the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo, providing a clear analysis of what needs to be done to get the country back on track.
They were eager to accept DECP's offer to help and indicated their priorities were the development of payable services, capacity-building, lobbying/marketing and women entrepreneurship.
To that end DECP agreed to help organise, in cooperation with the ILO/ITC, a workshop/training in the first quarter of 2009.
.JPG) | | Meeting with CADIN |
Fact-finding and workshops in Nicaragua A DECP delegation visited Nicaragua from 8th to 12th of September to set up a cooperation programme with the Cámara de Industrias de Nicaragua (CADIN) and the umbrella organisation COSEP.
Thru several meetings with public and private organisations DECP got a good insight in the social and economic situation of Nicaragua.
In the coming months a Partnership Agreement -to be signed between DECP, COSEP and CADIN- will be drafted.
The fact-finding mission was combined with 2 workshops on "Attracting and keeping members" and "Social Dialogue" for members of CADIN and other member chambers of the Confederation COSEP. More...»
.JPG) | | Mr. Cerescu (r.) and J.K. Bout |
Partnership between the Moldovan Employers' Confederation and DECP On Wednesday June 18, a PA was signed between Mr. Cerescu, president of the CNPM, the National Employers' Confederation of Moldova, and Jan Karel Bout of DECP. Afterwards Mr. Cerescu expressed his satisfaction about the conclusion of the PA, as he stated that this is the first bilateral agreement signed by CNPM with a colleague organisation. Points mentioned in the Agreement include assistance in the implementation of the new regulation on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), improvement of the communication strategy of the Confederation and its members and assistance to the Construction sector and the Food and Agro-Industry (FNPAIA) regarding several matters.
As a result of the Partnership agreement, a workshop on OSH was provided to CNPM and its sector associations. More...»
.JPG) | | Overview of the round table |
Fact-finding mission to Kosovo (Pristina) From May 7-9 Thieu Korten and Jean-Marie Standaert carried out a fact-finding mission to Kosovo with the aim to check the possibilities to set-up a new, independent Employers’ Organisation (EO). The initiator for this EO is Mr. Begu, former chairman of governing board of the “Banking and Payments Authority of Kosovo”, also known as the Central Bank of Kosovo, and professor at a private university in Pristina. First contacts were arranged by Mr. Mile Boskov, the president of the neighbouring Confederation of Employers of the Republic of Macedonia (CERM). Mr. Begu organised on Friday 9 June a round-table with several key businessmen of Kosovo and they decided to create a workgroup who will prepare the statutes for a founding assembly for a new and independent Employers’ Organisation in Kosovo.
The founding assembly of the new confederation -named "Kosova Employers' Association" (KEA)- took place on 9 June in Pristina. It is the intention of DECP to support and cooperate with the new employers’ confederation, regarding the organisation of promotional conferences and the establishment of new services for the members.
The DECP delegates also had a very fruitful meeting with Mrs. Margriet Struijf, Head of Office of the Netherlands Embassy in Pristina. In order to get a general impression of the country, visits were also made to the Deputy-Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Mr. Gjergj Dedaj, as well as to the Constructors Association.
_(2).JPG) | | Mr. L. Nysamsambuu, President of MONEF, and Jan Karel Bout signing the PA |
Partnership Agreement with Mongolian Employers Federation Jan Karel Bout and Thieu Korten visited the Mongolian Employers Federation (MONEF) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 15th to 24th of April. Several meetings were held with the president and vice-president/CEO of MONEF. Discussions with several representatives of Ministries, the trade union, the Chamber of Commerce and the World Bank gave a good understanding of the Mongolian economy and the relation between the main stakeholders.
At the end of the fact-finding mission a Partnership Agreement between MONEF and DECP was signed.
After the fact-finding mission a 3-day training programme, "An effective and efficient employers' organisation" was held in cooperation with the International Training Centre of the ILO and the International Employers' Organisation. More...».jpg) | | Certificate of attendance |
Train-the-trainers workshop in Georgia on Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) With the aim of assisting the Georgian Employers’ Association GEA in setting-up a new service on OSH for its members, a Train-the-trainers’ seminar as well as a workshop on how to set-up an external OSH service and how to carry out a risk assessment was organised by GEA, with the support of DECP.
The training was given from 4 till 7 March, 2008 by Mr. Jean-Charles Lysen, Director for risk assessment at ADHESIA, an external OSH service in Brussels (Belgium).
More ...»
.JPG) | | Jan Karel Bout and George Dikker Hupkes talking to the Minister of Social Affairs |
Fact-finding mission to Ethiopia From 27 to 29 Febr. 2008 Jan Karel Bout and Bram Van Overbeeke visited Ethiopia on a fact-finding mission. The Ethiopian Employers Federation (EEF) had organised a very informative programme that enabled them to get a good view of both Ethiopia's economic situation and its business climate. There are a number of positive developments in Ethiopia's economy. Infrastructure is clearly improving and the country intends to start exporting energy to its neighbours. While it is still has most of the characteristics of a centrally led economy, the environment for business is improving. The government is trying hard to attract foreign investments and has substantially liberalised its investment regime. Dutch flower growers are among the many foreign companies benefiting from this liberalisation.
Mr. George Dikker Hupkes, a Dutch businessman with extensive experience in Ethiopia, accompanied the delegation as an advisor.
DECP intends to work with the EEF and other business organisations for continuous improvement of the business climate in Ethiopia.
_(WinCE).jpg) | | Dutch Embassy in Sarajevo |
Visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina From January 22-24, DECP visited Bosnia-Herzegovina and attended the Private Sector Development (PSD) meeting organised by the Embassy of The Netherlands in Sarajevo.
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Joost van Ettro, Second Secretary of the Embassy, and was attended by delegates of following Dutch relief organisations: Netherlands Organisation for Development SNV, PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, SPARK (supporting promising young entrepreneurs) and DECP, represented by Jean-Marie Standaert. The CBI and EVD had also been invited but were not able to attend.
The Ambassador, Mr. Karel E. Vosskühler, attended the opening and was also present during the final conclusions.
Mr. Van Ettro opened the meeting with a presentation on private sector development, after which each of the organisations outlined their main activities.
The meeting was considered by all to be very useful as the organisations can learn from each others experiences. Establishing a network between the participants was also considered as valuable.
As DECP country manager for Bosnia, Jean-Marie Standaert also made a visit to the employers' organisation APBiH in Sarajevo.
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