UfM participation to 76th Session of the UN General Assembly
20-22 September 2021, New York. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel attended the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly where he showcased the work of the Union for the Mediterranean and strengthened its partnerships with key UN institutions and agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC).
Together with Assistant Secretary-General and Director for the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the UNDP Khalida Bouzar, Secretary General Kamel presented the main findings and recommendations of the UfM Regional Integration Report. They further agreed on renewing the Memorandum of Understanding between the UNDP and the UfM Secretariat, in view of developing an Action Plan between the two organisations on water, climate, digitalization and scientific cooperation, among others.
Given that the UN General Assembly creates a unique setting by gathering world leaders in the same place, the Secretary General also took the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Latvia, Egypt, Portugal, Algeria and Cyprus. Among topics discussed, Secretary General Kamel and the Foreign Affairs Ministers exchanged on the preparations of the upcoming UfM Regional Forum, to be held in Barcelona, in November 2021.
Lastly, the UfM Secretary General Kamel gave an interview to POLITICO Europe, a leading news publication on European affairs, with whom he talked about the importance of the UfM’s work in the Mediterranean region, “especially at a time when climate change and the pandemic have exacerbated inequalities” (Listen to briefing of the interview at POLITICO Europe’s U.N. Playbook newsletter)
“We need to understand that we are linked by history, geography, and culture and that our destiny and our future is interlinked. Cooperation for us is not a luxury, it is not a choice, it is a necessity for building co-prosperity for our people, south and north of the Mediterranean.” — UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel, in an interview to POLITICO Europe.
