Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will co-chair together with his Algerian counterpart, Abdelkader Messahel, the 14th meeting of the foreign ministers of the “5+5 Dialogue on the Western Mediterranean” on January 21.
During this meeting, the ministers will work on the concrete responses to issues relating to development (economic, social and sustainable), migration and youth in the 5 + 5 Dialogue countries. The work will also focus on strengthening cooperation in the area of security in the face of the regional crises, notably in Libya and the Sahel.
The 5 + 5 Dialogue brings together Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Portugal on the northern shore, as well as Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia on the southern shore. This is the oldest forum for bringing together the countries on both shores of the Mediterranean Basin; it was created with the aim of launching a regional cooperation process in the Western Mediterranean.
During the conference on the “Mediterranean of the Future” on November 21 in Marseille, Jean-Yves Le Drian stressed the need to better involve entrepreneurs, innovators and creators from civil society in our collective efforts to build a shared space in the Mediterranean.
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs supports more than 300 French local authorities involved in almost 700 decentralized cooperation projects with a dozen countries in the Mediterranean Basin. It also supports the civil society organizations and businesses active in the Mediterranean space, notably through the regional multi-stakeholder networks currently being established in the 13 French regions.
Diplomatie.gouv.fr
