Sharm el Cheikh, 10-13 January 2022 – The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, participated at the 4th edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) held in Sharm el Cheikh under the auspices of Egyptian President Abdelfattah El Sisi. This year’s edition was titled “Back together” and discussed Post-COVID effects, climate change, and human rights among other topics. The World Youth Forum is a platform built by promising youth engaging young people from around the world and allowing them to exchange views and recommend initiatives to decision-makers and influential figures. It is a chance for youth… read more
The new UfM Research and Innovation agenda supports three new research priorities: climate change, health and renewable energy. The UfM meeting of Senior Officials on 21 October endorsed the R&I platform proposal to hold an R&I Ministerial. The UfM Ad-hoc Senior Official Meeting convened on 20 December kickstarted the process for agreeing on a joint UfM Ministerial Declaration. 20 December 2021, Barcelona. The UfM meeting of Senior Officials on 21 October endorsed the R&I platform proposal to hold a Ministerial on Research and Innovation, the first under the UfM framework. This virtual meeting is scheduled to be hosted by France… read more
The UfM Regional Platform on Trade and Investment convened its second meeting in 2021 by videoconference. 16 December 2021. The 42 Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean convened today by videoconference for the second meeting of the UfM Regional Platform on Trade and Investment. They followed up on the planned work agreed upon at the previous meeting in July 2021, encompassing three main pillars of Sustainable Trade, Sustainable Investment and Regional Integration, along the lines of the Joint Declaration by UfM Trade Ministers of November 2020. The meeting of the platform was chaired by the UfM Co-Presidency, the… read more
Barcelona, 16 December 2021-The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Thematic Working Groups on Land Transport (Road, Rail and Urban Transport), Air Transport, Maritime Transport and Logistics of the UfM Regional Platform on Transport Connectivity which were held online from 14 to 16 December 2021, resumed the process of laying the groundwork at technical level for the upcoming UfM Ministerial Conference on Transport, in particular by continuing the discussions and the consultative process on the new Regional Transport Action Plan for the Mediterranean region (RTAP) for the period 2021-2027. The meetings which were co-chaired by the UfM Co-Presidency (European Commission’s DG… read more
30 November and 1st December 2021. In collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), a UfM Practical Educational Workshop on “e-governance” was implemented by the Estonian ICT Cluster for the benefit of Mauritania in a hybrid format on 30th November and 1st December 2021. The third in a series of UfM e-governance Workshops organized throughout 2021 as a follow-up to the outcomes of the UfM Conference on “Digital Transformation and Digital Skills for the Future” held in Tallinn (Estonian Capital), on 30 September 2019, this tangible initiative aimed to provide an opportunity for best practices sharing on digitalization as well… read more
Barcelona, 9 December 2021. During the last meeting of the UfM Senior Officials for 2021, and just ahead of the 2022 European Year of Youth, the 42 member states adopted unanimously the UfM Youth Strategy 2030 – Euro-Mediterranean Youth towards a common goal. The Euro-Mediterranean region has one of the youngest populations in the world, with one in every three people being younger than 25 years old, and with this number reaching almost half of the population for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. Moreover, youth are among the most vulnerable groups in the face of the pressing challenges our… read more
Today, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) gathered in Barcelona for the 6th UfM Regional Forum, held on occasion of the Day of the Mediterranean. On the margins of the UfM Regional Forum, the Secretariat held a conference to present and discuss ground-breaking results from the UfM-OECD study on the state of play of Euro-Mediterranean regional integration. 29 November 2021. Held in the framework of the celebrations of the Day of the Mediterranean, unanimously endorsed by all UfM Member States last year, the 6th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum took place today in Barcelona. During the meeting,… read more
Barcelona, 29 November 2021 – Climate action, economic integration and support for women and youth are some of the key areas of partnership under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today between the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the the Regional Bureau for Arab States of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The three-year agreement strengthens the collaboration between both entities to address common challenges across the Mediterranean and Arab States regions, enabling them to work together to build peace and prosperity through policy development, project implementation and knowledge sharing. Actions to support countries to adapt to and… read more
• 28th of November 2021 had marked the first annual celebration of the Day of the Mediterranean, recognising Mediterranean culture, cooperation and embracing the rich diversity of the region. • Home to more than 480 million people living across three continents, with a coastline of 46,000 km, the Mediterranean region offers an unparalleled wealth of human and natural diversity. • More than 50 events and initiatives have been held across the region to celebrate this first edition. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) hosted a Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and a Conference on Regional Integration on 29… read more
25 November 2021. Nearly 1 in 3 women around the world have been subjected to physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. These numbers do not reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or the full continuum of violence that affects women and girls in their lifetime including sexual harassment, online violence, domestic violence amongst many other forms of violence. Combating gender-based violence on national and regional levels is to remain the key priority in gender equality strategies and implementations. Fighting to eradicate gender-based violence is fighting for human rights. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to… read more
