Strategic talks with Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Amman, 29 January 2015. The Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate ‎Affairs, Nasser Judeh, held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Union for the ‎Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi, during which he discussed the mandate and the ‎activities of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, as well as ways to ‎develop them in order to reinforce the partnership and the cooperation between the ‎member States within the Euro-Mediterranean framework. They also discussed the ‎current mechanisms and the measures that can be adopted to accelerate the UfM ‎activities, and the need to realize the desired objectives within the mandate given to ‎the Secretariat and within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. ‎Jordan reaffirmed its support to the Secretary General, who earned the confidence of ‎the member States which have renewed his mandate at the Secretariat for three more ‎years. The discussions also tackled the European Neighbourhood mechanisms in ‎relation to the Southern countries, and the importance of revising and improving them ‎in a way that would reflect on the member States of the Partnership.‎

The member States approved during their meeting last December the renewal of the ‎Jordanian Co-Presidency for two additional years, given their appreciation for the ‎efforts exerted by Jordan during its mandate as Co-President of the Union for the ‎Mediterranean alongside the European Union, and their appreciation for the ‎important regional and international role assumed by Jordan and its distinguished ‎diplomacy, characterized by moderation and credibility under the leadership of H.H. ‎King Abdullah II of Jordan.‎

The Union for the Mediterranean is a regional Euro-Mediterranean organization that ‎brings together 43 member States, namely the members of the European Union in ‎addition to the Mediterranean basin countries, with a view to reinforcing regional ‎cooperation between these countries through joint projects in priority areas like ‎Energy, Transport, Environment and Trade, which call for regional cooperation and ‎coordination.‎