Brussels, 26/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The steering committee of the Forum of Global Associations of Regions (FOGAR), which was formed in Marseilles in March (see EUROPE 9385), met for the first time in Cape Town (South Africa) on 24-25 August. The meeting highlighted positive and negative sides of globalisation and noted that, if they are to be of benefit to citizens, public authorities had to intervene to support and correct it at all levels, including the regional. “The strategy that must be followed is to take part in the definition and governance of transnational policies which affect the development of regional territories,” said Xavier Gizard, Secretary General of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR). This effort by the regions was beginning to be recognised and encouraged at international and multilateral levels, Gizard said, adding: “In our reflection, we must not forget the need to support our regions' projects in a practical and concrete manner, notably those which bring together developed and developing regions, with the help of the United Nations and the European Commission”.
The meeting in Cape Town also drew up a timetable for meetings between regions from all five continents with European and international partners. Among these is the meeting of the 2nd convention for a regional approach on governance and development in Tangiers on 12-14 May 2008. Information: http: //http://www.crpm.org (gb)