Med Forum – Mediterranean Dialogues will take place in Rome from 10 to 12 December 2015. The even is promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), with the collaboration of the ArabTrans Think Tank Network and Aspen Institute Italia. All sessions will be open to the press.
“Beyond Turmoil, a positive Agenda” is the title of this first edition of the Forum. The goal is to pave the way for a new agenda for the Mediterranean so that the region ceases to be perceived solely as a synonym for crisis, danger and instability and can be seen once again as a theatre for opportunity.
The Forum will therefore concentrate on the current challenges and transformations taking place in the Mediterranean, which has become the epicentre for international turmoil. The priority remains the defeat of Da’esh and of violent extremism, the launch of a political transition in Syria and the birth of a government of national accord in Libya. We must look beyond the current state of chaos and imagine a new regional order built through diplomacy, partnership, governance and co-development.
The Forum will unfold over 3 days of meetings, with four special Dialogues, four “strands” (Shared Prosperity; Shared Security; Migration; Media, Culture & Society), and 23 sessions. 33 heads of state, ministers and leaders of international organisations will be present, as well as 200 leaders from the economic, political and cultural communities.
Attendees and speakers for the first day of the proceedings, 10 December, include Giorgio Napolitano, Honorary President of ISPI; Matteo Renzi, Prime Minister of Italy; Paolo Gentiloni , Foreign Minister of Italy; Abdullah II, King of Jordan; Nasser Judeh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Jordan; Roberta Pinotti, Defence Minister of Italy; Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of ENI; Salahehddine Mezouar, Foreign Minister of Morocco; Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom; Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister of Egypt; and Giorgio Squinzi, President of Confindustria.
Participants for day two, 11 December, include Sergey Lavrov,
Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation; Federica Guidi, Italian Minister for Economic Development; Habib Essid, Prime Minister of Tunisia; Saeb Erekat and Silvan Shalom (Deputy Prime Minister), chief negotiators for Palestine and Israel; Dimitris Avramopoulos,
European Commissioner for Migration; and Mauro Moretti, Chief Executive Officer of Finmeccanica.
The conference will end on Saturday 12 December with a speech by Italy’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paolo Gentiloni.
