First Economic Forum of the Western Mediterranean - Dialogue 5+5

On 23rd October 2013, the Union for the Mediterranean held the first Economic Forum of the Western Mediterranean – Dialogue 5+5 at its headquarters, in Barcelona. The event brought together ten Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Presidents of employers’ associations and more than 200 business leaders from major enterprises from the ten countries of the 5+5 Dialogue.

Following the Summit of the Western Mediterranean Forum, held in Malta on 5th and 6th October 2012, the Heads of State and Government of  Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia mandated the UfM Secretariat to organise the first Economic Forum of the Western Mediterranean in Barcelona in 2013.

This Forum will take place on 23 October 2013 at the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean, in Barcelona, with the participation of the Head of the Spanish Government,  Mariano Rajoy, and ten Ministers of foreign affairs of the countries of the Western Mediterranean Forum (commonly referred to as “5+5 Dialogue”), as well as business leaders and high-level representatives from major enterprises and employers’ associations from the Western Mediterranean.

The meeting is organized by Portugal and Mauritania, as co-presidencies of the 5+5 Dialogue, Spain as host country, and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and Casa Mediterráneo.

The Economic Forum will focus on the role of the Western Mediterranean in a global economy; the cooperation between Europe, Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa; public services and sustainable urban development; Small and Medium Enterprises as vectors of business development and economic growth; project funding for development; and Mediterranean arbitration

The official website of the event can be consulted here.