On Monday 28 October, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, will receive representatives from the more than 40 countries and institutions participating in the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the main objective of which is to address the Middle East situation. Beforehand, on Sunday, the minister will provide a welcome dinner for participants at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), to which the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, has also been invited.
Minister Albares is hosting a meeting co-chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan, Ayman Safadi.
The meeting, which will also see the attendance of the UfM Secretary General, Nasser Kamel, will focus on the most pressing regional challenges, paying particular attention to the worrying situation in the Middle East and the role that the UfM can play to support conflict resolution through Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
The Forum, which traditionally brings together the 43 UfM Member States in Barcelona, provides a unique opportunity to exchange ideas on how to move forward together in addressing regional tensions and the search for peace and stability.
On this occasion, which sees Palestine participate for the first time as a State formally recognised by Spain, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, is also invited to represent the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee. The Forum will also allow Minister Albares to hold several bilateral meetings with his counterparts in the region.
In late June, Albares met with Nasser Kamel to finalise preparations for this ninth Regional Forum. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the UfM's growing role in high-level political fora, such as the UN Security Council and the High-Level Conference on Gaza.
During that meeting, the Minister for Foreign Affairs also took the opportunity to express Spain's firm commitment to the organisation, both in terms of the open debate on its reform and strengthening to be more effective in responding to the region's challenges and in the contributions to guarantee its normal functioning.
UfM reform
The Forum is also expected to address the issue of reforming the organisation launched in 2023, 16 years after its creation in Paris in July 2008. In 2010, with the signing of the Headquarters Agreement with Spain, the UfM Secretariat was established in Barcelona, with its offices at the Pedralbes Palace.
Since its creation, the UfM has continued its work programme by holding multiple events and meetings with the support and participation of all its members.