Brussels, 01/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The World Bank (WB) and the secretariat general of the UfM (Union for the Mediterranean) have agreed to combine their activities to create “pilot projects” for the development of the Mediterranean. The planned projects will concern water management, transport, energy, SMEs and social sectors related to job creation, particularly for young people and women. The talks also focused on support for “economic transition”, to which the two organisations can make a contribution to promote integration in the region.
At a meeting in Barcelona at the end of September, between Jonathan Walters, the regional director of the WB for the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), and Fathallah Sijilmassi, secretary general of the UfM, the decision was made to promote projects of this kind using an adaptation fund created in the framework of the Deauville Partnership launched by the G-8 to support democratic transition in the Mediterranean. (FB/transl.fl)