Reshaping trade and investment in the UfM region
- Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process and the adoption of a new vision by the UfM Member States, the 2025 UfM Trade and Investment Forum is the Forum’s 7th edition in seven successive years, attesting to the emphasis the UfM places on facilitating trade and promoting investment to foster economic development and integration in the region.
- This year’s edition focused on three interrelated and elemental thematics, namely global trade disruption, trade integration in the UfM region, as well as cross-border investment and bankable projects, with a focus on green energy, digital services, and sustainable production.
10 December 2025, Barcelona – For the 7th successive year, the UfM organized its 7th UfM Trade and Investment Forum at its premises in Barcelona in partnership with the German Development Cooperation. Acting upon the mandate tasked by the 10th UfM Ministers of Trade (Brussels, 19 March 2018), the Forum continues to serve as the flagship annual fixture to assess regional trade and investment trends, discuss policy challenges, and mobilize partners around actionable pathways for strengthened economic cooperation across the Mediterranean.
The Forum aimed to gather evidence, highlight best practices, and identify policy reforms to enhance supply chain resilience, leverage regional synergies, and accelerate investment flows in priority sectors. The discussions will feed into upcoming UfM processes, notably the UfM Ministerial on Trade, as well as actions under the UfM Hub for Jobs, Trade and Investment.
The Forum was launched by the UfM Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Meltem Büyükkarakaş, who set the tone by underscoring the urgency of responding to global trade disruptions through coordinated regional action, emphasizing the importance of resilience, strategic integration, and deepened cooperation as key ingredients for strengthening the Mediterranean’s position in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
This edition of the Forum continued the UfM’s annual effort to create a shared space for dialogue on the evolving landscape of trade and investment in the region. The gathering came at a pivotal moment, following the reaffirmation of the Barcelona Process and the endorsement of a new Strategic Vision for the UfM Member States – an institutional milestone highlighted at the opening.
