UfM Secretariat praises effective coordination with 5+5 Dialogue during the 8th Conference of Western Mediterranean Transport Ministers

Barcelona, 7 November 2014. In the framework of the 8th Conference of Western Mediterranean Transport Ministers (GTMO 5+5) held in Lisbon on 22 October 2014, the UfM Secretariat praised the increasingly close and effective coordination between the Union for the Mediterranean and the Western Mediterranean Forum (5+5 Dialogue).

Operational cooperation in the field of transport was fully consolidated on 14 November 2013, after the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the UfM Secretariat and the Group of Transports Ministers of the Western Mediterranean (GTMO) within the framework of the UfM Ministerial Meeting on Transport.

Promoted by GTMO 5+5 and endorsed by the 43 UfM Member countries, the Completion of the Central Section of the Trans-Maghreb Motorway Axis project is the first example of effective operational collaboration between GTMO 5+5 and the UfM. The project aims to increase mobility among the general population and facilitate international freight flows, thus generating a positive impact on regional and international levels. Both institutions are currently monitoring the progress of the project in Morocco and Tunisia, in cooperation with the respective Ministries in charge of the projects.

The LOGISMED Training Activities (LOGISMED-TA) project is another example of the effective coordination between the UfM and GTMO 5+5. The project launching ceremony was held in June 2013, after the financing of the project had been secured, and it has already entered into the implementation stage.

As a facilitator for regional, subregional and transnational transport projects, and with a view to achieve an integrated multimodal Trans-Mediterranean Transport Network (TMN-T), the UfM Secretariat informed participants of the call for transport infrastructure projects for UfM labelling and promotion.

The conference ended with the signature of the Lisbon Statement by the Ministers of the Member countries, and the following measures were adopted:

• Core Multimodal Transport Network for the Maghreb defined by the GTMO 5+5, inspired by the European Union methodology and guidelines of the Trans-European Transport Network. This core multimodal transport network is part of the TMN-T and was agreed to intensify efforts to implement the GTMO 5+5 core multimodal transport network with a focus on its missing or under construction links in the strategic Maghreb axes, namely those related to the Trans-Maghreb Motorway Axis, especially in Libya and Mauritania.
• Action Plan for the Coordination and Management of the Trans-Maghreb Motorway Axis, which will help ensure a regional and multimodal approach.