UfM Secretariat active in 2018 OSCE Mediterranean Conference to reinforce Euro-Mediterranean synergies and regional cooperation

UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel was invited by the OSCE Slovak presidency and Spain to be a special speaker in the opening session of the 2018 OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Malaga, addressing the importance of energy for economic growth and co-operation in the Mediterranean

UfM and OSCE Secretariats signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen cooperation between the two institutions and serve as framework of ongoing joint-projects

Malaga, 25 and 26 October 2018. The Union for the Mediterranean had an active participation in the OSCE 2018 Mediterranean Conference, held over two days in the Spanish city of Malaga.

In a conference dedicated to “The importance of Energy for economic growth and co-operation in the Mediterranean”, Deputy-Secretary General responsible for Energy and Climate Action, Jorge Borrego, presented the UfM’s actions in the field of Energy and energetic transition, namely in “Reshaping the benefits of renewables”.

Secretary-General, Ambassador Nasser Kamel, was a special speaker in the Opening session of the Ministerial segment, and had the opportunity to elaborate on the importance of Energy for economic growth and co-operation in the Mediterranean, with particular emphasis to the facilitator role that the UfM is developing as a platform for debate and policies reform at the regional level, notably through the establishment of its UfM Energy Platforms.

In his intervention, Ambassador Kamel had the opportunity to praise the efforts of the OSCE, through its Mediterranean partnership, in promoting a meaningful and constructive dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region, on a number of topics that are at the heart of the UfM agenda, like environment and climate, and helping establishing the linkages between energy, security, economic growth and poverty reduction.

The UfM Secretary General mentioned the relevance of regional dialogue in promoting best-practices and common approaches to the necessary energy transition that has to be developed in the Euro-Mediterranean area, as well as the pivotal role of the private sector and financing institutions in its implementation.

Secretary General Kamel and his counterpart of OSCE, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow for the reinforcement of cooperation and complementarities between the work developed by the two institutions. The MoU focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment, youth engagement and participation and education/research. The ongoing joint-project “Prevention of Climate and Environment Security Threats in the Mediterranean” is a first example.

“The OSCE and the UfM are complementary organizations: overlapping membership, shared commitment to co-operation and peace, with the OSCE more focused on security and UfM on economic-social issues. We look forward to closer co-operation and co-ordination over the coming months. Concrete work lays ahead of us,” said Greminger.

In the margins of the 2018 Mediterranean conference in Malaga, the SG Nasser Kamel held a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of OSCE participating countries, namely the Slovak MFA, (Miroslav Lajčák) and the Greek Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Terens Quick), among others.

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