Brussels, 09/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 November, Strasbourg will play host to the first ministerial meeting of the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean), which will focus on sustainable urban development, the French co-presidency has announced.
Sustainable urban development is a priority in Euro-Mediterranean regional cooperation, the co-presidency states. “Sustainable urban development is of vital importance to all Mediterranean populations.” It goes on to note that “two out of every three people living in the Mediterranean area are city-dwellers”. “With nearly 100,000,000 extra inhabitants between 2000 and 2025, the cities of the southern shore of the Mediterranean will experience major changes at all levels and they must prepare for them.” “The upheaval related to the Arab revolutions put urban players (local authorities, financial institutions and promoters) at the heart of the reflection on creating the sustainable city in the Mediterranean area.”
The implementation of this policy will impact upon the sectors of transport and the environment and the completion of the Mediterranean Solar Plan, the creation of a Mediterranean Centre for Scientific and Technological Research, agriculture and rural development and shoreline management.
A preparatory meeting with high-level civil servants of the Union for the Mediterranean with responsibility for urban development took place in Rabat on 12-13 September. (FB/transl.fl)