Brussels, 12/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 9 October 2009, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced that along with the World Bank, the Egyptian, French, Jordanian, Lebanese,, Moroccan and Tunisian governments and the city of Marseilles in France, it is opening a centre for integration in the Mediterranean region (CMIM). The Marseilles Centre will provide access to information and best practice and will help improve cooperation in support of development policies to back integration in the region. It will provide a platform to enable public and independent bodies from the Mediterranean to work together on 14 programmes in five domains (town and country planning; sustainable development; transport and logistics; skills, employment and mobility for workers and young people; and the knowledge-based society, innovation and technology).
The deputy chair of the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank, Shamshad Akhtar, commented that Mediterranean countries needed to make enlightened political choices about how to develop their latent potential for interdependence, and the World Bank's partner countries therefore wish to learn by sharing their experiences, success stories and development challenges. She said the World Bank would work to ensure the partnership was a success and led to tangible outcomes for the region by reducing unemployment and poverty. (F.B./transl.fl)