Brussels, 31/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The ninth regional conference organised by the EuroMed Facility for Investment and Partnership (the FEMIP fund) was held in Casablanca (Morocco) on Monday 30 May under the auspices of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Moroccan economy and finance ministry and the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry to examine Mediterranean infrastructure challenges and the potential for public-private partnerships (PPP). In a press release, the EIB points out that the international conference is particularly important because investment of more than €300 billion will be required to update infrastructure and public services in the Mediterranean area.
Bringing together the key public-private partnership (PPP) players on both shores of the Mediterranean, the conference had a threefold aim: - to publicise current projects, recent PPPs and the prospects offered for PPPs in the Mediterranean region; - to encourage EU partner countries to rapidly boost their ability to mobilise the private sector and enhance their attractiveness for foreign direct investment; - and to pursue a common PPP initiative in the Mediterranean on the basis of the EIB's experience in the region and provide interested countries with suitable financial, operational and technical resources.
A FEMIP study of the legal and financial setting for PPPs in Mediterranean partner countries was at the heart of the conference, examining the potential for PPPs and tangible, operational suggestions. Based on the findings of the study and drawing on its own experience in the field of PPPs within the European Union and outside the EU, the EIB says that it has decided to launch an ambitious technical assistance programme in the Mediterranean in 2011-2013 to expand the use of PPPs and accelerate the transfer of expertise and technologies in the region through pilot projects. (O.L;/transl.fl.)