Designated UfM Secretary General Kamel and UfM Co-President Mogherini hold talks on the state of play of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation

The designated Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, and the UfM Co-President, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, held talks in Brussels on UfM priorities and activities in the framework of its 10^th anniversary.

Brussels, 9 July 2018. Designated UfM Secretary General Kamel and HRVP Mogherini discussed today the preparations for the 3^rd UfM Regional Forum, the annual meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the UfM Member States. The Forum, set to take place on 8 October in Barcelona, will provide the opportunity to take stock of these past ten years and discuss the prospects for the future work of the Union for the Mediterranean.

During the meeting, HRVP Mogherini reaffirmed the support and commitment of the European Union to the Union for the Mediterranean and commended its work in facilitating practical cooperation between all actors in the Mediterranean, including through holding of sectorial Ministerial Meetings on crucial topics for the region and its work in successfully supporting the implementation of region-wide projects. SG Nasser Kamel thanked HRVP Mogherini for the strong and continued support of the EU to the UfM and the key role it plays alongside the Jordanian Co-Presidency in organising its work and in following up on its core affairs.

SG Nasser Kamel presented the priorities of the organisation and highlighted the key ambitions of his mandate. He said: “Over the last years the UfM has proven its efficiency and its raison d’être. The challenges that our region currently faces can only have collective and concerted responses, and the UfM is the only institution that brings together the European and the Southern Mediterranean countries to work together on equal footing. In the eve of its 10^th anniversary, the time has come for a renewed dynamism and regional commitment to strengthen the impact of the organisation towards more effective cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean area”.