Brussels, 03/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The secretary general of the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean), Youssef Amrani, believes that “the success of the current process of change in the region will largely depend on the creation of a balanced political transition” and economic development. He said this in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General assembly. He laid emphasis on the need for regional integration, both “horizontal” and between the EU and the southern shore. “We must develop and support a Euro-Mediterranean system of dialogue and collective governance, and we must also support the Agadir Agreement” (Ed: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan). The Agadir Agreement, he added, is”a successful experiment in economic integration, which has increased trade between the signatory countries and helped to develop industries with greater added value”.
In Amrani's view, “regional economic integration, cooperation and the interconnection of infrastructure will have a decisive role for the economic future of the region (…). The Deauville Partnership is an initiative which has come at the right time, it is useful, politically, and economically relevant. Four of the five countries of this Partnership are members of the Union for the Mediterranean and we hope that Libya will soon establish close collaboration and once again become an active member of the Mediterranean region.” He added that “change in the region is an opportunity for the Union for the Mediterranean” and that the UfM is an opportunity for the region. (FB/transl.fl)