UN General Assembly: Enhancing regional cooperation to address the challenges in the Mediterranean

New York, 18 September 2017. The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Fathallah Sijilmassi, participated in the 72^nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA72), on 18-22 September. He was accompanied by UfM Deputy Secretary General for Business Development Sudqi Omoush, UfM Deputy Secretary General for Transport and Urban Development, Ihab Fahmy, and the Head of the Communication and Public Affairs Office, Adèle Peenaert.

The participation of the UfM to UNGA72 falled within the framework of the UfM efforts to enhance regional cooperation in order to address the challenges in the Mediterranean and thereby contribute to the Global Agenda.

The Euro-Mediterranean region is at the forefront of major pressing strategic challenges such as migration, terrorism, conflicts, water scarcity, food security or youth unemployment. Addressing these challenges is crucial for the security, stability and development of the region, but also an essential contribution to the global agenda.

The Euro-Mediterranean region is at the forefront of major pressing strategic challenges such as migration, terrorism, conflicts, water scarcity, food security or youth unemployment. Addressing these challenges is crucial for the security, stability and development of the region, but also an essential contribution to the global agenda.

In this context, the 43 Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the UfM, under the leadership of the Co-Presidency, held by the EU and Jordan, adopted in January 2017 an action-oriented roadmap to consolidate a common agenda for development in the region. This entails:

• Consolidating the UfM as a forum for political dialogue to enhance regional cooperation and regional integration;
• Intensify regional policy platforms with a multi-stakeholder approach in key strategic areas and thematics;
• Promoting concrete projects to operationalize political decisions.

In order to effectively contribute to the stability in the Mediterranean and addressing the challenges of migration and other security-related issues, the UfM is developing an action driven agenda that builds on the huge potential of the Euro-Mediterranean region, through activities reaching a growing number of beneficiaries and enhancing sustainable development as a means to significantly address the root causes of these challenges.

To that effect, the UfM Secretary General and his delegation held a number of bilateral meetings and participated in several high level activities to further make concrete progress on the different initiatives the UfM is engaged in in the framework of its Action Plan.

• Member States: bilateral consultations with Ministers and Heads of delegations of the Co-Presidency and several Member States to take stock of progress achieved and discuss the way forward;
• UN agencies: with its Observer Status at the UN, the UfM aims to further strengthen its partnership with the different UN agencies;
• International organisations: as a means to increase synergies, coordination and complementarities with International and financial organisations, the UfM delegation engaged in a number of discussions to further structure action towards implementation of activities in the Mediterranean;
• Attending the high-level meeting on the Syrian crisis hosted by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini (Co-President of the UfM);
• Participating in the launching summit of the Global Pact for the Environment, upon the invitation by the French President Emmanuel Macron;
• Participating to several events organised by the Moroccan Presidency of the COP 22 and within the framework of the Climate Week;
• Attending the World Economic Forum’s “Sustainable Development Impact Summit”.

During these meetings, the UfM Secretary General promoted the action-driven agenda for the Mediterranean, which aims at:

• Addressing the root causes of migration through action on youth, women’s empowerment, education and employability. The UfM will present the latest advancements of its flagship program Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs), which aims to increase the employability of youth and women and foster private sector development in the region. The contribution of the UfM-labelled Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes (Morocco) to knowledge sharing and mobility in the region will also be highlighted.
• Furthering regional integration through human development and the promotion of innovation, trade and investments. The UfM delegation will be promoting the different activities foreseen in the coming months such as the holding of the UfM Ministerial Meeting on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Society” and the Energy Business Forum.
• Promoting a Mediterranean Climate and Sustainable Development Agenda. The UfM, with the support of the EU, is finalizing a study on the status of climate finance in the region that will be presented in Bonn at the COP23. It is also developing a Mediterranean Agenda in the fields of water and urban development following the Ministerial Meetings on Water (Malta, April 2017) and Urban Development (Cairo, May 2017).

Background info:

The UN General Assembly granted the UfM observer status to the United Nations in 2015. The 72^nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly will take place during 12-25 September 2017. This year’s General debate will be held under the theme “Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet”.

Some of the UfM flagship initiatives and projects specifically targeting young people are:

• Mediterranean Initiative for Jobs (Med4Jobs)
• Forming Responsible Citizens: promoting citizenship education to prevent school violence, particularly against girls and women
• New Chance Mediterranean Network – MedNC
• Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes
• HOMERe – High Opportunity for Mediterranean Executive Recruitment