Brussels, 23/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The first meeting of top civil servants from the countries of the EuroMed area and their agencies for promoting investment took place in Brussels on Thursday, at the request of the Arab member countries of the Barcelona Process. Their request seeks to create a structured network and regional database among specialised agencies, taking account of the recent EU enlargement and the need for development of “south-south” relations. The European Commission, which organised the meeting, set out all that was being done to help the Mediterranean, particularly the work carried out by the ad hoc industrial cooperation group and under the current EuroMediterranean programmes, Anima, FEMISE and FEMIP. Long before the meeting, the Commission had spoken of its desire to avoid duplication in setting up joint cooperation structures for promoting investment. (fb)