Paving the way for the Second Ministerial Conference of the 5+5 Dialogue on Research, Innovation and Higher Education
Barcelona, 26 January, 2015. The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness will co-organize on 28-29 January, the Preparatory Meeting of Experts for the Second Ministerial Conference on Research, Innovation and Higher Education of the Western Mediterranean Countries (Dialogue 5+5).
The meeting will provide an opportunity to present  the state of play of UfM-labelled projects and flagship activities in the field of Higher Education and Research as well as to identify possible synergies with the 5+5 Action Plan to be drafted by the national experts.
In view of preparing the Dialogue 5+5 Second Ministerial Conference (Madrid, 23-24 March 2015) the working sessions will focus on how to increase cooperation in the areas of Research, Innovation and Higher Education as essential instruments for pursuing balanced socio-economic growth in the region.
Representatives from the UfM Secretariat participated in the First  Ministerial Conference of the 5+5 Dialogue on Scientific Research, which was held in Rabat on 19-20 September, 2013. On that occasion, Ministers decided that Spain would host the Second Ministerial Conference on Research, Innovation and Higher Education in 2015. Ministers expressed their support to the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, which recently launched its first accredited Master programmes (read latest developments).
The 5+5 Dialogue was officially launched in Rome in 1990 as an informal sub-regional forum aimed to foster relations and cooperation between European countries and the newly created Arab Maghreb Union. Since then, further high-level conferences have taken place to discuss various issues such as migration, defense, transport, tourism, education, or environmental issues and renewable energy, among others. The 5+5 Dialogue comprises the following countries: Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia.
Other news related to the cooperation between the UfM Secretariat and the 5+5 Dialogue:
- 5+5 Dialogue Ministerial Meeting highlights the key role of the UfM to promote regional cooperation in the Mediterranean
- Strengthening economic cooperation: First Economic Forum of the Western Mediterranean -Dialogue 5+5- takes place at the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean
- UfM participates in the 5 + 5 Ministerial in Mauritania
- UfM and Group 5+5 to foster regional cooperation at 5+5 Dialogue Summit in Malta
