Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretary General Nasser Kamel took part in the “Diálogos para la Seguridad” event organized by El País today in Madrid. The event featured discussions and talks by a number of distinguished speakers on the complex geopolitical and security challenges facing Europe and the Mediterranean region; from the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflict, to irregular migration, radicalization and disinformation.

In a dedicated session on the situation in the Mediterranean entitled “Una mirada sobre el Mediterráneo”, the UfM Secretary General shared his assessment of the impact of the ongoing geopolitical crises in the Middle East on the stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region and beyond. Adding to that, the UfM Secretary General stated that the devastation, loss of life, and growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and the acute polarization prompted throughout the world.

He underlined the implications that the conflict has not only for the security and the human and political landscape in the Mediterranean, but also for the normative framework that guides the international community. Mr. Kamel emphasized that the sole viable vision for the region is what he called “the Peace-Centric Vision,” which seeks to build some level of reconciliation and coexistence between both parties, through a well-rooted peace built only ‎and exclusively on the two states-‎solution.‎ He confirmed the readiness of the UfM to support this vision, especially with its leverage being the only organization where Israel and Palestine enjoy full membership in equal standing.

On the margins of the meeting, the Secretary General met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, HE M. Jose Manuel Albares. They took the opportunity to discuss the next steps of the UfM reform, in view of next year’s 30^th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process/10^th UfM Regional Forum, as well as its alignment with the future EU Pact for the Mediterranean.