AASEP recognised as a strategic partner of the UEMOA Conference of Ministers
The West African Economic and Monetary Union(UEMOA) is a regional organization comprising eight West African countries sharing a common currency and coordinating their economic, social and sectoral policies. Since its creation, the UEMOA has established itself as a major framework for regional integration, playing a decisive role in the harmonization of public policies and the implementation of collective development strategies, particularly in the fields of employment and vocational training.
In this context, the African Association of Public Employment Services (AASEP) has just obtained the status of strategic partner of the Conference of Ministers in charge of Employment and Vocational Training of the UEMOA. This recognition was made official at the meeting of experts in preparation for the 16ᵉ Conference of Ministers, which opened on 23 September 2025 in Cotonou, Benin.
Institutional recognition on a continental scale
AASEP brings together the public employment services of twenty African countries, all members of the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES). It is thus the African arm of this global network, promoting cooperation between states and the modernisation of public employment services on the continent.
Its Chairman, Ibrahim Ag Nock, Director General of the National Employment Agency of Mali and also Vice-Chairman of the Africa Region within WAPES, took part in the Cotonou meeting in his new role as strategic partner.
In his view, this decision by the Permanent Secretariat of the UEMOA Ministers’ Concertation Framework is a strong institutional recognition that honours all African public employment services and, beyond that, their counterparts around the world federated by WAPES.
Issues centred on the future of work
The 16ᵉ UEMOA Conference of Ministers is being held from 23 to 26 September 2025 on the theme:Digital transformation and youth employability: what levers for future skills and stability in the age of artificial intelligence?
This theme reflects the current priorities of the Member States: supporting young people in the face of technological change, preparing the skills of tomorrow and strengthening social stability through employment.
AASEP, a key player in advocating effective public employment services
By joining the circle of strategic partners of the Conference of Ministers, AASEP now has a stronger platform from which to advocate more effective and innovative public employment services capable of meeting the growing needs of users and governments.
This step forward consolidates the position of AASEP and its members in regional and international cooperation on employment and vocational training, in line with the WAPES guidelines.