Spanish PM pledges renewed focus on jobs at virtual Davos Forum
Xinhua
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez participates in the virtual World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda meeting in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 25, 2021. (La Moncloa/Handout via Xinhua)

MADRID, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the World Economic Forum's first virtual annual meeting (also known as the Davos Forum) on Monday that he intends to improve young people's qualifications and job prospects in his country.

Sanchez participated via video conference in one of the forum's round table events.

He said the high level of youth unemployment in Spain was "unacceptable" and his government was working to address the problem with measures designed to improve qualifications and re-train young people, with a focus on promoting digital skills and helping young women.

He said his country's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan,has earmarked some 2,500 million euros (around 3,040 million U.S. dollars) for digital training.

He said that in the context of the recovery plan, significant resources will also be dedicated to modernizing labor market policies to provide jobs for young people.

He said the pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and that women have become more vulnerable economically, but insisted that his government's economic response to the crisis has helped to protect families, workers and companies by introducing temporary employment regulation schemes.

Sanchez said these measures, along with the recovery plan, and European Union funds, would allow for investment to create jobs and transform Spain's economy by introducing reforms to increase productivity.

He also highlighted Spain's commitment to its economy, saying that by 2030, 74 percent of Spain's energy will be generated from renewable sources. He also confirmed an investment of 1,500 million euros to develop renewable hydrogen projects and the preparation of a law to combat climate change. (1 euro=1.21 U.S. dollars)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez participates in the virtual World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda meeting in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 25, 2021. (La Moncloa/Handout via Xinhua)