14 July 2021. The Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) convened by videoconference in a meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Trade and Investment (formerly known as the UfM Trade Senior Officials Meeting), chaired by teh UfM Co-Presidency of the European Commission and Jordan. The meeting followed up on the 11th UfM Trade Ministers Conference held in November 2020, and agreed a Work Programme for the coming period focused around three main pillars: Sustainable Trade: participants reviewed the EU Trade Policy Review, the main findings of a study for an ex-post evaluation of the trade… read more
The UfM promotes social dialogue between representatives of employers, workers and governments as a prerequisite to meaningful post-pandemic recovery in the region. With the economic difficulties facing private sector worldwide, and the slowing of employment and labour progress caused by the pandemic, there is a risk of neglecting such social dialogues in the short term. Enhancing the skills of the workforce must be a critical part of effective dialogue between all parties involved. Barcelona, 8 July 2021. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) today held a conference on “Social Dialogue with Social Partners” together with BUSINESSMED, the European Training Foundation… read more
30 June 2021, Barcelona. The Conference of the Governors of Mediterranean Central Banks took place online on 28 June 2021. Organised by the Banco de España, the Central Bank of Tunisia, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), the conference tackled the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis across the Euro-Mediterranean area and a sustainable, inclusive, green and digital development agenda. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments across the Mediterranean to take severe measures to curtail socioeconomic activities, which has caused a substantial economic slowdown in many countries of the region. In… read more
25 June. A virtual conference was held this week to showcase pathways for supporting Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and achieving a sustainable economic recovery. The Conference brought together policy-makers (from ministries, central banks, regulators and the European Commission), as well as academics working on this subject, MSME finance advocates, and diverse market participants covering the whole eco-system (banks, microfinance institutions, investment funds, incubators, accelerators, fin-techs, leasing companies, credit guarantee companies, business angels, crowdfunding platforms, and development cooperation frameworks) and international financial institutions active in the region. There were also speakers and panelists representing institutions… read more
Trade accounts for 35% of GDP in the Mediterranean region, and the intra-regional trade market is one of the most important in the world. Today, the first edition of the UfM Progress Report on Regional Integration, commissioned by the UfM, and prepared by the OECD, was presented in an online event along with policy recommendations and an insight on best practice in regional integration from around the world. The report takes stock of the progress that has been made, and highlights two important challenges that still stand: inadequate infrastructure for transport and energy connectivity, and a lack of common vision… read more
The Med4Jobs Advisory Board Meeting 2021 brought together prominent stakeholders to take stock of the state-of-play of employment-related challenges and the efforts undertaken towards a sustainable and inclusive socio-economic recovery. The Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs) is a major building block of the UfM response to the unemployment challenge in the region. With over 100,000 beneficiaries, mostly young people and women in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, it gathers best practices and success stories from the region. 25 March 2021. The UfM organized the seventh Med4Jobs Advisory Board Meeting in an online format, with the aim of discussing a broad… read more
Erilda Krasi of 1001 Albanian Adventures, a tour operator based in the city of Berat, has won the third edition of ARLEM Young Entrepreneurs Award, reflecting as well the efforts of the city of Berat to support the development of the local tourism industry. The award, which has been presented annually since 2019 by the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) celebrates both the work of entrepreneurs younger than 35 and efforts by local authorities to foster business-friendly policies. The award was presented to Ms Krasi by the presidents of the European Committee of the Regions and of United Cities… read more
The workshop is the first in a series of three Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) workshops on e-governance scheduled to be implemented in a selection of southern Mediterranean countries throughout 2021, in partnership with Germany’s Development Agency (GIZ) and the Estonian ICT Cluster. The event was opened by the Algerian Delegate to the Prime Minister and Minister in charge of Knowledge Economy and Startups, and the UfM Secretary General underlining just how important the digital transition is for business continuity, as demonstrated by the current pandemic, but also as a vector of sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in the future…. read more
19 January 2021, Barcelona. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, held an online meeting with Christoph Rauh, Africa Director at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The meeting took place in the context of Germany’s ongoing support to the UfM Secretariat, which is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ). They discussed the successful outcomes of the second edition of the high-level UfM Trade and Investment Forum, which was held on 12 November 2020 during the German EU Council Presidency, under the auspices of the BMZ. At the Forum, which renewed the momentum for trade and… read more
Ljubljana 30 November 2020 – The UfM SG, Nasser Kamel, took part today in online Slovenia’s Innovation Day 2020 “Symptoms of creativity”, organized jointly by the Creative Forum (MfA of Slovenia) and the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Addressing the Leaders’ Panel: From Unplanned Spill-overs to Deliberate Cross-overs, along with high level speakers, namely Ministers and representatives of International Organisations, Nasser Kamel highlighted the importance of Creative industries as driving force for economic growth in normal times and economic recovery in the event of a crisis like the ongoing pandemic crisis as well as catalyst for social welfare and well-being…. read more
