31 January- 2 February 2022, Brussels. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, visited the main counterparts of the UfMS within the EEAS and DG NEAR and held bilateral meetings with the European Commission DGs directly involved in the organization of the Ministerial meetings scheduled in 2022. The Secretary General met with Head of Division Birgit Loeser and Managing Director Fernando Gentilini and Deputy Managing Director Carl Hallergard. From DG NEAR, the meeting was hosted by Acting Director Neighborhood South Henrike Trautmann. The Secretary General shared his vision and priorities for the UfM, as well as the main initiatives and projects that… read more
The call for applications launched in November led to the selection and sponsorship of 136 women entrepreneurs and female executives from the MENA region looking to expand their network and grow their business within the region. 3 February 2022. Today, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in partnership with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), have joined forces with Business Club Africa, to create and launch the first MENA Women Business Club. The 136 selected women entrepreneurs met with other members, exchanged views and attended the first masterclass on digital marketing. Women entrepreneurs in the MENA region who own or… read more
Over 1 in 7 persons are experiencing some form of disability globally (WHO, 2021), and they face many barriers to inclusion in some key aspects of society, even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women with disabilities are at least two to three times more likely than other women to suffer violence. Only in the EU, accessible tourism has a potential economic market of 130 million people 26-27 January 2022. This 1st Conference on Disability and Social Inclusion in the Euro-Mediterranean Region, hosted in partnership between the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Spanish ONCE Social… read more
27 January 2022. Marine litter, the vast majority of which is made of plastics, is globally acknowledged as a major environmental and societal challenge of our time. The Mediterranean is one of the most affected seas by marine litter with more than 130 marine species are affected by debris originating primarily from shoreline activities. The new project “Plastic Busters CAP:Fostering knowledge transfer to tackle marine litter in the Mediterranean” kicked off today under the umbrella of the UfM initiative “Plastic Busters”, to become an instrument to improve Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), resulting in better local development planning. The main expected results of… read more
26 January 2022. The UfM warmly congratulates the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), as it celebrates the 30th Anniversary of its founding in 1992. The UfM maintains close relations with the BSEC, with whom it signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2015. Given the respective missions and areas of cooperation, as well as the geographic common areas, the two organizations are deeply committed to the reinforcement of cooperation and creation of synergies in of common interests such as combating marine litter and plastics, addressing the negative impact of Climate Change and promoting the Blue Economy, among others. Moreover,… read more
24 January 2022. UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, met with Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, in Ankara in Turkey on Monday January 24, 2022. They discussed the challenges and the opportunities in the Mediterranean region, as well as the way to reinforce the cooperation among Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean to promote a sustainable development and stability in the region. During the meeting, the Secretary General recalled the need to focus in a sustainable post pandemic recovery phase on an effective regional integration that will unleash the full social and economic potential of the Mediterranean… read more
Tuesday 18 January 2022. The Commissioner General for Italy, Paolo Glisent, and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel, announce the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding for the European Commission’s “No Women No Panel” campaign, taken up a year ago by Rai Radio1 . The Union for the Mediterranean announced its participation in March 2021 in the campaign seeking to improve gender representation and equality in the public debates in the Euro-Mediterranean Region. The UfM Secretary General highlighted: “The UfM is very proud to formally support and sign the MoU for the initiative No Women No… read more
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
