Country representatives in charge of Research and Innovation took stock of the progress achieved since the Valletta Ministerial Declaration (May 2017) Barcelona, 25 November 2019. The 24th meeting of the EU-Med Group of Senior Officials (EU-Med GSO) in Research and Innovation took place at the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on 25 November 2019 in presence of UfM country representatives and partners of EU-funded projects with a focus on the Mediterranean. The meeting was co-chaired by Maria Cristina Russo, Director for International Cooperation at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission and… read more
19-21 November 2019. The UfM Women Business Forum 2019 took place in Barcelona on 19-21 November within the margins of the Smart City Expo World Congress. It convened women entrepreneurs, national women business organizations, international leading organizations and business support schemes from the Euro-Mediterranean region to share knowledge and ideas on various business opportunities, good practices and innovative and successful business models. This year’s forum focused on promoting the role of women in the circular economy and in tech and innovation. During the roundtable on Women in the Circular Economy, challenges and opportunities for women in the Euro-Mediterranean region were discussed and different business models were presented. Circular economy models are complex and require the mobilization and… 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 Creative Forum Ljubljana is organised by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as a unique platform that links the Southern Mediterranean and the Western Balkans through creativity Creative industries hold great potential for the Euro-Mediterranean countries seeking to diversify their economies and participate in one of the most dynamic sectors of world commerce The recommendations and the takeaways from this landmark Forum will feed directly into the UfM roadmap activities and Slovenia’s Positive Agenda for Youth 14 November 2019, Ljubljana. The Creative Forum Ljubljana, organised by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Union for the Mediterranean,… read more
1 November 2019, Tirana. The National Workshop under the UfM Financial Strategy for Water took place in Tirana focusing on the sustainable financing of water resources management. The meeting highlighted significant financing need and the opportunities to increase operational efficiency and value-for-money of investments. The workshop took into account that the process of EU accession is the strongest driver for reform and investments and helped Albanian authorities to improve alignment of national goals and strategies with regional (UfM) strategies as well as the SDGs and showcase the analytical work carried out in the drinking water supply and sanitation (WSS) sub-sector. The… 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
The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, and the Executive Director of the Regions of Climate Action (R20), Christophe Nuttall, signed a partnership agreement to promote climate finance opportunities, notably at the level of regional and local authorities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the help of private finance leveraged through public finance. Paris, le 24 October 2019. Paris, 24 October 2019. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, met today with the Executive Director of R20, Christophe Nuttall, on the occasion of the One Planet Summit dedicated to “Scaling up blended finance for low carbon and… read more