Brussels, 20/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - The ten foreign ministers of the western Mediterranean rim countries are meeting on 20 and 21 April in Cordoue (Spain). These countries are part of the “5 + 5” group, an intergovernmental consultation framework between neighbouring countries launched in Rome in 1990. The cooperation process brings together the five Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) countries - Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya - and five European countries of the western Mediterranean (Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Malta).
According to Morocco, which co-chairs the meeting with Spain, discussions will focus on the prospects of future relations between the EU and its neighbours to the south, as well on the Union for the Mediterranean, a press release from the Foreign Ministry states. The previous meeting was held in Rabat in January 2008. (F.B./transl.jl)