9th meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Trade, Investment and Industry
07 May 2025, Brussels, Belgium – The 9th meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean’s (UfM) Regional Platform on Trade, Investment and Industry was held on 7 of May 2025 at the European Commission’s premises in Brussels. The event gathered senior officials from across the region, alongside experts from the European Commission, to discuss key regional initiatives across priority areas: regional integration, industrial cooperation, and sustainable trade and investment.
The meeting was inaugurated with speeches by Léon Delvaux, Director at DG TRADE, and Joan Borrell, Deputy Secretary General of the UfM. It was co-chaired by Mercedes Bonet, Deputy Head of Unit for the Southern Neighbourhood, Middle East, Turkey, Russia, and Central Asia at DG TRADE, and Wafa Jiris, Director at Jordan’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. Said Charna, Senior Economic Advisor at the UfM, provided an update on the UfM’s ongoing and planned initiatives in the areas of trade, investment, and industry.
DG MENA shared progress on EU-funded regional projects supporting the green and digital economies. In the context of regional cooperation, DG TAXUD presented the latest developments and future steps related to the revised rules of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention, which entered into force on 1 January 2025. Regional integration initiatives, such as the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), were also discussed.
On industrial cooperation, DG GROW introduced the EU Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Deal.
In the field of sustainable trade and investment, DG TRADE presented updates on the WTO Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and the EU’s Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement.
Participants were also briefed on the latest developments regarding the Pact for the Mediterranean and the T-Med initiative.
The next meeting of the UfM Platform on Trade and Investment is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2025.
