Barcelona, 31 May 2022. UfM Deputy Secretary General for Transport and Urban Development, Amb. Erdal Sabri Ergen, participated in the official opening of the 18th Mediterranean Logistics & Transport Forum alongside eminent speakers including Adina Välean and EU Commissioner for Transport, as well as Anwar Zibaoui ans Ahmed El Wakil, President and General Coordinator of ASCAME, Pere Navarro, Special Delegate of the State to the Barcelona “Zona Franca” Consortium, and Elisabet Camprubí, President of the International Commission at the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona. The MedaLogistics Week, which is held in the framework of SIL Barcelona, is a major meeting… read more
World Environment Day 2022: tackling the transition to sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean
5 June 2022. The World Environment Day 2022 calls for transformative changes in policies, including ensuring that maritime activities are sustainable, innovative and job-creation oriented. In order to tackle blue economy challenges, the UfM and the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG Mare) are organising the UfM Blue Finance Conference on 22 June in Barcelona, bringing together financial institutions, banks, private investors as well as key representatives of the UfM countries. “The ocean economy is expected to double to $3 trillion by 2030, employing 40 million people, as compared to 2010” highlights the UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel…. read more
Barcelona, 19 May 2022. The Union for the Mediterranean organised a Regional Dialogue Meeting in the framework of the 3rd UNESCO World Higher Education Conference (WHEC2022), held in Barcelona from 18 to 20 may. The meeting was an opportunity for qualified exchanges between representatives from Ministries of Higher Education of the UfM Member States, the European Commission, and key regional partner organizations and relevant academic stakeholders. UNESCO and the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), the local organizers of the World Conference, were also present. The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, addressed the following message: “As the last Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial… read more
Union for Mediterranean (UfM) Ministers in charge of employment and labour have agreed joint actions for a better integration of social and labour markets in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Governments will focus on a stronger participation of young people and women in their societies and economies. They also stressed the need to continue measuring the impact of labour market policies, and they agreed to launch a “Community of Practices on Youth Employment” to exchange best practices. The EU launched the regional Team Europe Initiative “Jobs through Trade and Investment in the Southern Neighbourhood”. On this occasion, Germany and Spain inaugurated a UfM… read more
Marrakech, 17 May 2022. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel; and the Director a.i. of the European Training Foundation (ETF), Xavier Matheu , have signed today a Declaration of Intent during the UfM Ministerial Policy Conference held within the framework of the fifth UfM Ministerial on Employment and Labour hosted by Marrakech, Morocco, on 17-18 May 2022. Under this Declaration, the UfM and ETF express their wish to share knowledge, expertise, and networks in order to follow up on the regional dialogue on Employment and Labour; contribute to the UfM Community of Practice on… read more
With a budget of €11 million, the UfM Hub for Jobs, Trade and Investment will contribute to employment promotion, the integration of Southern Mediterranean countries into regional value chains in goods and services, as well as to trade facilitation and sustainable investments in the region. Every third young person in the Southern Mediterranean is unemployed, while only every fifth woman in MENA countries participates in the labour market. Marrakech, 18 May 2022. On occasion of the 5th UfM Ministerial on Employment and Labour in Marrakech, the UfM Secretariat signed today a Joint Declaration of Intent with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development… read more
Barcelona, 10 May 2022 – In view of the next UfM Ministerial Conference on Transport to be held in Cairo on 3 October 2022, and following the conclusion of the preparations at the technical level within the UfM Regional Platform on Transport Connectivity, a UfM Ad-Hoc Senior Officials Meeting on Transport convened online on 10 May 2022. The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministries of Transport as well as from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of UfM Member States, and representatives of several Directorates-General of the European Commission, including DG MOVE and DG NEAR. The meeting presented and discussed the… read more
8 May 2022. Invited by Princess Rym Al Ali, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation, the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, visited Amman on Sunday 8 of May 2022 and held several meetings with the representatives of the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Co-Presidency of the UfM. The Secretary General first took part in a joint coordination meeting conveyed at the initiative of Princess Rym Al Ali and gathering the co-president of the UfM, both the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jordan, Ambassador Yousef Bataineh and Birgit Loeser, Head of MENA Region at the EU External… read more
7-8 April 2022, Paris – The UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, visited Paris on 7 and 8 April 2022. He met with several officials from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic cell of the Elysée Palace. He also met with the ambassador Karim Amellal, Interministerial Delegate for the Mediterranean to discuss the follow-up of the “Forum des mondes méditerranéens” and in particular the “Plaidoyer 2030”, an advocacy work led by nearly 150 young people from the Mediterranean for a more sustainable and inclusive cooperation in the region. The Secretary General participated in the preview screening… read more
6 April 2022 – This multi-episode documentary, Mediterranean, Odyssey for Life, directed by Frédéric Fougea and narrated by Camélia Jordana and Guillaume Néry, will show the beauty of our shared sea through breathtaking footage and give a message of hope. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has been working on environmental and climate issues for many years and, as such, is very proud to have participated in this documentary, featuring an interview with the Secretary General. As an organisation working on regional cooperation, the goal is to raise awareness and build consensus among its Member States on how to respond to… read more