Value chains’ regionalization in the Mediterranean: an International Conference in Aix ‎en Provence

• Co-organized by the UfM Secretariat, Sciences Po Aix, the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Economy, Secretary General Nasser Kamel opened the event held in the historical building of the French University.
• In his opening speech, Secretary General Nasser Kamel discussed the unexploited potential of economic integration for the Euro-Mediterranean region and highlighted the Janus-faced character of the regionalization of the value chain in the Mediterranean, filled with both challenges and opportunities.

Aix en Provence. 2 June 2023 – UfM Secretary General opened the conference jointly organized by the UfM, Sciences Po Aix, the Délégation interministérielle à la Méditerranée (DiMED) –  French Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and the French Ministry of Economy, dedicated to the regionalization of the value chains in the Mediterranean.

This international conference gathered political, diplomatic, economic, and academic leading figures from both shores of the Mediterranean. Creating a platform for fruitful exchanges and debates with such diverse players of the region, this forum aimed at examining the economic and geopolitical reconfigurations at work today on a global scale, favoring a regionalization of international exchanges, particularly on a Mediterranean scale.

Secretary General Nasser Kamel was invited to introduce the debates of this full-day discussion. He grasped the opportunity to raise awareness on the unprecedented crises and large-scale shocks affecting production methods and business organizations, leading to a sharp reconfiguration of world trade. As such, he highlighted the untapped potential of economic integration for the region, but also stressed the opportunities as well as the challenges in operating a regionalization of the value chains in the Mediterranean. In this context, UfM Secretary General recalled the complementarities and shared interests that the Southern and Northern shores have in strengthening their relations, most notably in the fields of trade, energy, and human capital.

On the margins of the conference, Secretary General Kamel met with Mr. Karim Amellal, French Ambassador for the Mediterranean and UfM Senior Official, where he debriefed on the two meetings he had with the Minister of European and Foreign Affairs and the Diplomatic counselor of the French President.

Secretary General Kamel was also able to converse with Mr. Pascal Ausseur, Director General of the Fondation Méditerranéenne d’Études stratégiques (FMES), who presented the work of his institution, and with the President of Dauphine University in Paris, Mr. El-Mouhoub Mouhoub about the economic integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. During this exchange, Pr. E.M. Mouhoub encouraged countries in the region to focus their relocation strategies on new technologies rather than those of the past, highlighting the rapid development of artificial intelligence.