UfM Secretary meets EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood & Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation, the key role of the UfM in the region and preparations UfM Regional Forum

21 October 2020. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, virtually met with EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, and they emphasized the importance of the partnership between the UfM and the EU Commission in order to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region.

During the online meeting, Secretary General Kamel underlined that the UfM has been working in the last years on key priority areas shared with the EU, namely: climate action, digitalisation, job creation.  The European Commission is “the main partner of the UfM Secretariat at financial, technical and political level” UfM Secretary General underscored, also thanking EU Commissioner Várhelyi for his participation, involvement and essential contribution to the next 5th Regional Forum taking place on 25-27 November in Barcelona.

Secretary General Kamel and EU Commissioner Várhelyi also discussed the Southern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy and its potential strategic importance to foster economic growth and job creation in the Southern rim of the Mediterranean in the near future.