The TEI aims to address the enormous challenges for decent employment in the Southern Neighbourhood, especially for young people and women. It supports a holistic approach to job creation in the Southern Neighbourhood, by bringing together initiatives that link trade, investment, and entrepreneurship policies and outcomes with job creation. The TEI allows its participants to join forces on three thematic areas, (i) sustainable trade and investment; (ii) technical vocation and skills, and (iii) inclusive entrepreneurship. It also foresees close cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean, notably the regional policy platforms, including on trade, employment, and industrial cooperation. The official launch included an interactive discussion with Young EU Goodwill Ambassadors from Morocco and Tunisia, who asked Acting Director Henrike Trautmann and Member State representatives on the TEI’s purpose and how existing development assistance instruments can support job creation at the regional level.