Meeting with Jordanian Foreign Affairs Minister Safadi closes designated Secretary General Kamel’s visits to the UfM Co-Presidency

The designated Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Nasser Kamel, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, in Brussels, to discuss the need of strengthening regional cooperation and dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region, as well as the way forward for the organisation. These talks concluded a series of meetings held by the designated Secretary General with the UfM Co-Presidency on the occasion of his first weeks in office.

Brussels, 11 July 2018. Designated UfM Secretary General Kamel and Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Safadi held talks on the increasing challenges the Euro-Mediterranean region has been facing these last few years, and the need to reinforce regional cooperation and dialogue to tackle their root causes.

Minister Safadi congratulated designated Secretary General Kamel on his appointment at the head of the UfM Secretariat and reiterated the support of the Government of Jordan to the organisation. He took the opportunity to reaffirm the important role the Union for the Mediterranean plays as a unique platform for regional cooperation and dialogue that brings together all Euro-Mediterranean countries, as well as in supporting the implementation of concrete initiatives for the future of the region.

During the discussion, designated Secretary General Kamel expressed his gratitude to the Jordanian Government for their continuous engagement as UfM Co-Presidency along with the European Union, in guiding the organisation’s work and activities. He exchanged on the priorities of his mandate and highlighted the main projects ahead for the UfM.

The meeting was also the occasion to discuss the preparation of the 3^rd UfM Regional Forum, the annual meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the UfM Member States, set to take place on 8 October 2018 in Barcelona. Following the first two successful editions of this Forum, the third edition coincides with the tenth anniversary of the launch of the UfM and will be a timely moment to take stock of the progress achieved so far, and to discuss the way forward to build inclusive human and sustainable development in the Euro-Mediterranean region.