UfM and the Agadir Agreement Unit discuss ways to promote synergies and complementarities

Barcelona, 30 January, 2013. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi, held a working meeting with the Executive Director of the Agadir Agreement Unit, Walid El Nozahi, at the UfM premises, in Barcelona.

This meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on the existing synergies and possibilities of collaboration between the Secretariat of the UfM and the Agadir Technical Unit (ATU). Specific projects to be developed in the fields of SMEs and transport were discussed and operational decisions for the follow up of their implementations were taken.

The Agadir Agreement (AA) was signed on 25 February, 2004 by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia with the objective of establishing a Free Trade Area in accordance with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 (GATT); developing economic activity; supporting employment; increasing productivity; and improving living standards within the Member Countries.

The AA Market concerns more than 120 million people with a combined domestic product of nearly € 200 billion. The Agadir Technical Unit (based in Amman) which insure and follow-up the implementation of the Agreement was set up in April 2007.