Brussels, 22/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The foreign ministers of the ten countries of the Western Mediterranean will meet in the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on 23 October. This will be an open meeting, chaired jointly by Portugal and Mauritania, to which the heads of large companies and corporate organisations have been invited. The EU, which was represented in Malta in October 2012 by the president of the European Commission, has yet to announce who will be its representative this year.
The occasion is symbolic of the desire of the ten countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania), which meet regularly within the informal framework of the so-called 5+5, to cooperate more closely with the UfM and to make it - as they agreed at their last summit in Malta - the framework for implementation of some of their projects. The 5+5 group intends to remain a forum for informal agreement on both economic matters and security and immigration. These latter two issues are already central to their dialogue.
The UfM will, in a sense, be responsible for “sub-contracting” the economic strand. Against the background of the upheavals in the Mediterranean, particularly in its eastern regions, the UfM has been reduced to the countries of the Western Mediterranean. Jordan, which holds the joint Presidency of the UfM with the EU high representative for foreign affairs, is the notable exception.
In presenting the event, the organisers state that, because of its great potential and socio-economic assets, the Western Mediterranean could play a more important role in world economy. With all its assets, the sub-region offers the business world a competitive advantage, strengthened by its close proximity to the lucrative European markets.
The main stumbling block is the weak regional integration, with the border between two of the main southern shore players, Morocco and Algeria, still closed. The question of how regional integration and enhanced economic dialogue can boost the Mediterranean economy and cooperation between the public and private sectors will also be posed.
In terms of organising neighbourhood relations, the countries of the southern rim of the Western Mediterranean also wonder about the future of their relations with West Africa. The economic boom in Africa is a reality, they say: forecasts are promising for 2013 and 2014, with average growth rates of between 4.8% and 5.3%. Reference is made to the May 2013 report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the OECD, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that says that Africa's mining, agricultural and energy resources are key factors in terms of acceleration of growth. This, the report says, should encourage foreign investors and local operators to develop closer economic links. The 5+5 group and the UfM hope that economic opportunities can become concrete projects. (FB/transl.fl)