Ministerial Meeting of the “Med Group”: UfM Secretary General presents state of play and perspectives for regional integration in the Mediterranean
Barcelona, 26 February 2016. At the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, UfM Secretary General Fathallah Sijilmassi participated in the third meeting of the informal Med Group on 25-26 February in Limassol, Cyprus.
Sijilmassi reaffirmed the UfM Secretariat’s commitment to further contribute with the constant development of its activities to tackling the socio-economic root causes of the current security and migration challenges through an enhanced common agenda for human development, stability and integration in the Mediterranean.
The UfM Secretariat has developed a number of significant concrete initiatives to enhance regional cooperation. To that effect, Sijilmassi presented the latest update on the state of play of UfM activities: 41 projects worth over €5 billion and impacting the lives of thousands of citizens. UfM activities focus mainly on inclusive growth, youth employability, women’s empowerment and sustainable development.
The Med Group constitutes an informal group of seven Mediterranean EU Member States: Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Malta. This meeting has provided a new opportunity to exchange ideas in an informal setting on issues of common interest mainly affecting the European Union and the Mediterranean.
The UfM Secretary General also participated in the previous Med Group meetings held in Alicante, Spain, in April 2014 and in Paris, France, in February 2015.
As part of his working visit to Cyprus, the UfM Secretary General held meetings with other officials including the Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus, Costas Kadis.
joint communication
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