The Senior Officials of the Union for the Mediterranean held their second meeting of 2023 to discuss the role, functioning and efficiency of the organisation, on the eve of its 15th anniversary.

They reviewed the actions and activities planned for the year, notably the launch of the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue, the Day of the Mediterranean, as well as the 8th UfM Regional Forum, which will take place in November 2023 in Barcelona. During this annual meeting of the 43 UfM Foreign Ministers, a review of the achievements of the organisation will be conducted to explore ways of strengthening its impacts and results on the ground. The European Union-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting will also take place in Barcelona on the same date, back-to-back with the UfM Regional Forum.

Furthermore, member states also discussed the upcoming UfM sectorial ministerial meetings, namely on Trade (Spain, 19 October) and Higher Education (Morocco, 8 November), and their foreseen deliverables for the region.

Finally, UfM Senior Officials unanimously endorsed a new cooperation project, “TouMaLi – Contribution of sustainable waste management systems in the tourism sector for the protection of marine ecosystems”. The project aims at minimizing waste volume from the tourism sector in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, as well as to recycle and reuse unavoidable waste. It will thereby significantly reduce marine and beach litter and protect marine and coastal ecosystems by assessing quantities and primary sources of marine litter in selected tourism destinations and providing sustainable solutions in those countries.