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
Unleashing public and private investment to enhance agricultural production and improve food security is essential for the southern and eastern Mediterranean region…. read more
Barcelona, 28 April 2015. Mr Harlem Désir, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, made a working visit to the headquarters of the UfM to discuss the challenges in the Mediterranean and the importance of supporting the regional cooperation efforts to confront these challenges. Talks between the Secretary of State, the Secretary General of the UfM, Fathallah Sijilmassi, and the Deputy Secretaries General of the UfM focused on the major regional challenges to be tackled, the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and the activity of the UfM within the framework of the… read more
Barcelona, 27 April 2015. Today the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, Jorge Fernández Díaz, called for the international community to join efforts in consistently addressing the current emerging challenges in the Mediterranean, such as illegal immigration and terrorism. Minister Fernández Díaz underlined that Spain is very active, both at national and EU level, in these fields and has thus established close cooperation with its partners in the Mediterranean region and in Africa. He also underscored the central role of the Union for the Mediterranean to promote regional integration and contribute to addressing these challenges. A lunch discussion on the “Main… read more
The UfM Co-Presidents, Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Nasser Judeh, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, met on 13 April with the Secretary General of the UfM, Fathallah Sijilmassi, at the UfM premises in Barcelona. This meeting was held on the occasion of the informal Ministerial Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU and the Southern Mediterranean countries, which took place on the same day at the UfM headquarters. Both UfM Co-Presidents took stock of the progress made within the framework of the UfM Secretariat’s… read more
