News

Geneva, 27-28 January 2020. Following UfM’s commitment to contributing to a greater economic integration in the Mediterranean, UfM Secretary General (SG), Nasser Kamel, held bilateral meetings in Geneva with Roberto Azevêdo, Director General of WTO, Mukhisa Kituyi , Secretary General of UNCTAD, Seth Nikhil, Executive Director of UNITAR, and OIga Algayerová, Executive Secretary of UNECE. On his first meeting with Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), SG Kamel provided a background on the trade-related UfM scope of action, which includes the deepening of the South-South economic integration and a strengthening of the Euro-Mediterranean trade partnership, inter alia… read more

The plenary Session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) gathered over 100 representatives of local and regional authorities at the UfM headquarters in Barcelona. The annual meeting of ARLEM centered its debates on action against Climate Change in the Mediterranean Barcelona, 23 January 2020. The 11th Plenary Session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) gathered over 100 representatives of local and regional authorities at the UfM headquarters in Barcelona with climate action at the centre of the debates.   UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, welcomed participants to the UfM headquarters and recalled the launching, 25 years ago, of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, which laid the foundations for the… read more

Barcelona, 18 December 2019. The Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) endorsed today the program ENI CBC Med, whose aim is to reinforce the impact of funded projects across the Mediterranean region through the creation of four thematic clusters of projects: environment and climate change, business and SMEs development, technological transfer and innovation and social inclusion and fight against poverty. This meeting of Senior Officials was the last one of the year 2019 and the opportunity to push forward cooperation and synergies for 2020. The encounter was the chance to discuss a number of other issues, such… read more

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) held the 1st Annual Conference on Water Investment and Financing in the framework of the MED – Mediterranean Dialogues, held in Rome on 5-6 December. With current policies, 250 million people are projected to be considered water-poor by 2025. Through its regional Water Agenda, the UfM seeks to support its Member States in achieving a sustainable and integrated water management while securing financial sustainability for the water sector. The UfM Secretary General today will brief the audience on the main recommendations as well as on the geopolitical implications of climate change. Rome, 6th December 2019. The UfM… read more

Nicosia, 2 December 2019. Upon the invitation of Nikos Christodoulides, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, paid his first official visit to Nicosia, in the framework of his outreach to the UfM member states. During their meeting, Secretary General Kamel expressed his appreciation to the Minister for the determination of his Government to continue to play an active and constructive role within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean. On his side, Minister Christodoulides expressed the value and potential he sees in the very promising relationship between Cyprus and the UfM…. read more

Barcelona, 19 November 2019. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, was received on Tuesday 19 November 2019 by Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, host city of the UfM Secretariat. During their first meeting since her re-election last April, SG Kamel took the opportunity to commend Mayor Colau on her ambitious programmes for the city, ‎reiterating the importance of cities and local governments in pushing ‎forward inclusive and sustainable development agendas, localizing ‎the Sustainable Development Goals. Kamel further highlighted the UfM Secretariat readiness to further enhance its action at local level, notably to address more effectively the climate emergency faced across the… read more

The Union for the Mediterranean hosted the annual coordination meeting of regional organisations on 13 November 2019, and called for increased synergies to tackle the pressing challenges faced in the Euro-Mediterranean region, notably the climate emergency which disproportionately affects the area. Barcelona, 13 November 2019. The Union for the Mediterranean is an active member of the coordination group of intergovernmental organisations operating across the Euro-Mediterranean region. It hosted on Wednesday 13 November its 2019 Annual Meeting, with the aim of guaranteeing the complementarity of their work and the pursue of their mutual objectives with better results and greater impacts. Representatives… read more

The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, participated in the XV Conference of the Mediterranean Commission of the European League for Economic Cooperation (ELEC) under the title “Promoting Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean”, which took place in Palma de Mallorca (Spain) on 30-31 October 2019.  Palma de Mallorca, 30-31 October 2019. The Conference on “Promoting Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean” brought together over 80 stakeholders from the Tourism and Blue Economy Sectors on both sides of the Euro-Mediterranean Region, presenting an occasion for exchanging views, ideas, best practices and success stories in the field. The discussions focused on the role of… read more

Athens, 29 October 2019. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, participated today in the 4th EU-Arab World Summit in Athens, held on 29-30 October under the title “A Strategic Partnership”. Established in 2016, the EU-Arab World Summit is an international forum that promotes economic and political dialogue between the EU and the Arab World. The aim of this is to promote the two regions’ common interests and values, focusing cooperatively on shared priorities to meet regional and global challenges. Based on the significant success of previous editions, the 4th EU-Arab World Summit focused this year on economic cooperation and investments, especially… read more

Tirana, 24-25 October 2019. UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel participated as a special speaker in the opening session of the 2019 OSCE Mediterranean Conference that was held in Tirana, Albania, on the 24 and 25 October, in the presence of chairman of the OSCE Mediterranean Contact Group, Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania Gent Cakaj. The OSCE and its Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia) celebrated this year a 25th anniversary. During the 1994 Summit in Budapest, a new framework for cooperation was created which is known today as the Contact Group… read more