The 10th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean was held today in Barcelona, with Italy represented by the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Maria Tripodi, acting on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani. Among those in attendance were the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, José Manuel Albares Bueno, the European Commission’s High Representative, Kaja Kallas, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, in their capacity as Co-Presidents, as well as the European Commissioner responsible for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica.
In her address, Undersecretary Tripodi underlined that the thirtieth anniversary of the Barcelona Process marks a key opportunity to reaffirm its original ambition: to build, throughout the Euro-Mediterranean region, a shared area of peace, stability and inclusive prosperity.
She also highlighted the unique role of the Union for the Mediterranean as an intergovernmental platform that succeeds in bringing together, on an equal footing, the countries of both shores of the Mediterranean, thereby fostering cooperation, sustainable development and regional integration through concrete initiatives and projects. “Italy,” she stressed, “firmly supports the UfM’s reform process and its new strategic vision, in line with the new EU Pact for the Mediterranean,” unveiled during a dedicated event held in the run-up to the Regional Forum.
Undersecretary Tripodi concluded by reiterating Italy’s commitment to investing in a renewed UfM, both by hosting the next ministerial meeting on water and by financing programmes in the fields of water, climate and energy.
