Twenty-five senior female high public officials from the Mediterranean countries meet in Barcelona to discuss the role of gender equality in various issues that the region faces…. read more
• Blue economy offers enormous potential for job creation and investment in the Mediterranean, particularly in terms of sustainable development, clustering and networking of education and training organisations, increased research and innovation capacity, skills development and access to finance. • This potential can only be tapped through joint efforts and close cooperation between all littoral States…. read more
• The Jordanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nasser Judeh, opened the Senior Officials Meeting in Jordan, which has held the southern co-presidency of the UfM since 2012. • Within the political dialogue, Senior Officials exchanged views on the Middle East Peace Process, the situation in Syria and its repercussions on the ground, including the Syrian refugees issue and the phenomena of extremism and radicalism across the Euro-Mediterranean region…. read more
• Both institutions signed an official partnership agreement to cooperate in areas such as business development, women’s economic empowerment, energy, water, environment and climate change. • The operational collaboration between UfM and UNIDO started in 2014 with the promotion of the project “Establishment of a regional platform for the Development of Cultural and Creative Industries and Clusters in the Southern Mediterranean”, aimed to foster entrepreneurial cooperation among the cultural and creative industries…. read more
The Union for the Mediterranean contributes to the international community’s renewed efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation with a view to preventing extremism and intolerance. Barcelona, 22 May 2015. The Secretary General of the UfM, Fathallah Sijilmassi, participated at the OSCE Security days on “Building Bridges: Promoting Dialogue to Prevent Radicalization and Violent Extremism”, held in Vienna on 21-22 May 2015. The Conference, opened by the OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier, gathered senior officials from governments and international organizations, experts, religious and civil society leaders and leading journalists from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation, to discuss on how… read more
• 250 policymakers, experts, representatives from international organisations, think tanks, funding agencies, private sector and civil society from 35 countries discussed solutions to reduce the economic gender gap in the Euro-Mediterranean region. They stressed the urgency to improve women’s economic participation and called for concrete measures and more synergy between key actors in the region. • The Minister of Women and Family Affairs of Tunisia, Samira Merai Friia, proposed that Tunisia hosts the next Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on increasing the role of women in Society in 2016…. read more
The UfM Secretariat (UfM) continues to support the regional agenda on women’s empowerment and gender equality with the implementation of specific projects and initiatives. Within the last weeks, and thanks to the support of the UfMS’s partners, major progress has been made in the implementation of the following UfMS regional labelled projects: Young Women as Job Creators The second phase of Young Women as Job Creators has already begun. It is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Principality of Monaco and is to be implemented in 2015-2016 in Albania, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine,… read more
The launch of the Water Integrity Capacity Building Programme for the Middle East and North Africa embodies the Union for the Mediterranean’s commitment to improving quality of life in the region through the implementation of integrated, equitable and sustainable water resources management…. read more
• According to the World Bank, investment to cover energy needs in the Mediterranean will come to €23 billion per year by 2030 • Enhanced dialogue through UfM platforms on energy will facilitate partnerships between the main stakeholders in the field of energy and strengthen cooperation between the member states of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)… read more
• The Mediterranean is one of the most vulnerable regions to the adverse effects of climate change. • In the run-up to the COP 21 in Paris, the UfM Informal High-Level Conference on Climate Change in Skhirat, Morocco contributes to fostering regional dialogue and cooperation to support Mediterranean countries’ ongoing efforts to achieve climate change goals…. read more