On 26/04/2011, Dr. Ali Sindi, KRG Minister of Planning, met with Mr. Paolo Lembo, UNDP’s Iraq Country Director, to discuss the preparations for the Youth Conference to be held in Erbil early next month. The aim of the Youth Conference is to give voice and sense of acknowledgement to the Kurdistan youths in a two-day open discussion. In the discussions the participating youths will talk about their problems, concerns and future aspirations. On the other hand the participating ministers and officials will highlight their plans and projects that aim to address problems related to youths. Finally time will be allowed for question and answer session.

On a different note, Mr. Lembo suggested a joint project between UNDP and MoP to assess the infrastructure needs of the industrial sectors and identify the factors that deter investors away from such long-term industrial projects. Dr. Ali Sindi stated that the previous government carried out a similar assessment that can become a useful basis for the aforementioned project.  He stated that this is an important project, the conclusions of which can be used to direct government investments toward projects that enhance the potentials of local and foreign investment in the industrial sector.