Over 700 experts, policymakers and representatives from the private sector, the civil society and international organizations are gathering virtually this week to discuss the state of gender equality in the Mediterranean region in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 5th UfM Women4Mediterranean Conference kicked-off yesterday with the launch of the first-ever Intergovernmental Monitoring Mechanism on Gender Equality in a meeting of the UfM Member States. This new reporting exercise will allow to measure and report the progress made on women’s rights and provide policy recommendations to close the gender gap in the region. Barcelona, 17 November, 2020. The UfM Secretariat… read more
Over 300 experts, policymakers and representatives from the private sector, the civil society and international organizations today gathered online at the “UfM Trade and Investment Forum” to discuss trade, investment and employment opportunities in the Mediterranean region in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Forum was preceded by a Ministerial Meeting of the UfM Trade Ministers on 10 November. See Joint Ministerial Statement. Germany announced its support to finance the creation of a UfM Hub for Jobs, Trade and Investment Promotion in order to promote trade opportunities and contribute to facilitate access to finance, mobilize investments and strengthen regional value… read more
The 42 member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) convened today by videoconference for the 11th Trade Ministerial Conference to launch three new trade and investment initiatives. They also called for the strengthening of trade ties in the Euro-Mediterranean area as a crucial element for the regional economic recovery. 10 November 2020. The UfM Trade Ministerial Conference stressed the importance of ensuring that Mediterranean partners can take full advantage of opening markets. The newly launched trade and investment initiatives supported by the EU and implemented by partner organisations – the International Trade Centre, the International Labour Organization and… read more
• The UfM Secretary General and Spanish Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge meet to reinforce cooperation for sustainability in the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process, taking place this year. • During the meeting, they underlined the urgent need to address the impact of climate change in the Mediterranean, where the temperature is already warming up 20% faster than the global average 6 November 2020, Madrid. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel and Spanish Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, met today in Madrid to strengthen cooperation for sustainability in the Mediterranean region. This visit contributes to the current reinforced relations between the Spanish authorities and the UfM, in the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process, taking place this year. During the meeting, UfM SG… read more
5 November 2020. In the framework of the 25 year anniversary of Barcelona Process, the Senior Officials of the UfM Member States met to endorse two new projects and to discuss preparations of the 5th UfM Regional Forum, which will be held at the end of the month. The meeting took place virtually and provided the occasion to join forces with the World Health Organisation to improve countries capacities in preventing and responding to violence against women as a key public health issue. They also endorsed a new climate-related project on the conservation of coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean basin. Senior officials also discussed preparations for the fifth edition of the UM Regional Forum. The event will be co-chaired by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and… read more
Barcelona, 28 October 2020. During today’s phone call with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisian Abroad of the Republic of Tunisia, Othman Eljerandi, the UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel congratulated Tunisia for the successful 16th Meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Western Mediterranean (5+5 Dialogue), hosted virtually by Tunisia, and for the role played by Tunisian diplomacy during his actual mandate at the UN Security Council. UfM Secretary General Kamel stressed the importance of regional cooperation, dialogue and the implementation of projects in order to address the three objectives of the region: stability, human development and… read more
28 October 2020 – The UfM Regional Platform on Industrial Cooperation convened today in a virtual format, bringing together representatives of the UfM Secretariat, the European Commission, public authorities, business associations from Northern and Southern Mediterranean countries and international organisations. The meeting saw the presentation by the European Commission of a number of new EU policies, including the industrial policy, the green and the digital transition and the strategy for Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It was also the occasion to take stock of the implementation of the 2018-2020 UfM Work Program on Industrial Cooperation, extended one more year with a… read more
The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, attended the 16th Meeting of Foreign Ministers “Dialogue 5 + 5”, hosted in digital format by the Tunisian and Maltese Co-Presidencies. The Ministers welcomed the “the driving role of the UfM as a special platform for dialogue and regional cooperation, bringing together all the Mediterranean countries and the European Union.” The ministerial conference coincides this year with the 30th anniversary of the Western Mediterranean Dialogue and the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. Barcelona, 22 October 2020. The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the “5+5 Dialogue”, which includes 5 countries from the Northern shore of the Mediterranean (Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Portugal)… read more
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,… read more
Rabat, 13 October 2020. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad of the Kingdom of Morocco, Nasser Bourita, to stress the importance of regional cooperation. In the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process to be commemorated this year and also in the current challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, they both highlighted ways of strengthening Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and improving economic development in the region. In the press conference after the meeting in Rabat, Minister Bourita reaffirmed Morocco’s support to the UfM, recalling that the country participates in… read more
