The lehendakari (First Minister) of the Basque Government, Iñigo Urkullu, announced, in an event organised on occasion of the 25th anniversary of Deusto Forum, an organisation dedicated to the analysis of ideas that affect society, that the two great challenges of this decade on which his economic strategy will focus are youth employment -the current unemployment rate is around 30%- and innovation. He said that the employment of young people and the incorporation of innovation into economic activities are two goals for which it “is worthwhile working on a shared basis. These are the challenges that shall ensure the sustainable growth of the Basque Country until 2020″.
Urkullu used his speech during this event, termed as “a beacon of thought that has kept ahead of issues affecting society”, to present the “Euskadi 2020: human development and sustainable growth” project. The lehendakari was accompanied in the Auditorium of Deusto University by the Regional Minister of Employment, Juan María Aburto, the Regional Minister of Education, Cristina Uriarte, the spokesperson for his cabinet, Josu Erkoreka, the president of the Bizkaia Provincial Council, José Luis Bilbao, and the mayor of Bilbao, Ibon Areso, among other representatives of the main political forces.
