The first operational meeting of the PAM Panel on External Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean, will be held in Naples, Italy, on 12-13 November 2010. The meeting will take place under the auspices of the Italian Parliament and is co-organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the National Italian Federation of Industry (Confindustria) and the Naples Industrialists’ Union.
The opening ceremony will be addressed by Dr. Giovanni Lettieri, President of the Naples’ Industrialists Union (Italy), Sen. Francesco Maria Amoruso, President of the PAM 2nd Standing Committee and PAM Vice President (Italy), Hon. Stefano Caldoro, President of the Campania Region, a Representative of the Italian Government, and Hon. Mohammed Abou El Enein (Egypt), President of PAM.
PAM Parliamentarians and representatives of the institutional, economic and academic sectors (Governments, Chambers of Commerce, Investments Promotion Agencies, Associations of Industries, Banks, Universities) will elaborate measures that can be undertaken by national parliaments and relevant international and regional institutions, to stimulate and facilitate trade in the Mediterranean region, to work towards the establishment of a Mediterranean Free Trade Zone and a dedicated regional Investments / Development Bank.
Delegates will reflect on the current trade situation, which has been further stricken by the recent economic crisis, and will suggest operational measures to be considered for adoption and shared by all Mediterranean parliaments to facilitate trade and speed up the economic recovery of the region. Particular attention will be paid to the role of SMEs, as key players in the national and global economy.
PAM will be represented, by the newly elected President, Hon. Mohammed Abu El Enein (Egypt), PAM Vice-Presidents, Sen. Francesco Amoruso (Italy), Hon. Abdellatif Abdouh (Morocco), and Hon. Askin Asan (Turkey), as well as, Hon. Ridha Bouargoub (Tunisia), PAM Rapporteur on External Trade and PAM Secretary General, Dr. Sergio Piazzi. Parliamentarians from PAM member states’ national delegations will also participate. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Ms. Virginia Cram-Martos – Director of Trade and Timber Division of UNECE – United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and Mr Olivier Cattaneo, Senior Trade Specialist of the World Bank.
Background to the PANEL
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean formally set-up its own working initiative for the regional development of trade and investments, on the occasion of a two day meeting in Lisbon (27-28 May, 2010), hosted by the Portuguese Parliament and co-organised together with the Portuguese Business Development Agency (AICEP).
PAM is already actively committed to the economic dimension of parliamentary diplomacy in the Mediterranean within the framework of the 2nd Standing Committee, which deals with economic, social and environmental cooperation. A Special Task Force on Free Trade in the Mediterranean was set-up in 2008, paving the way for further discussions on the sector and leading to the initiative launched in Portugal.
On that occasion it was also agreed to set up an action group consisting of representatives of all economic actors in the region, whose brief was to prepare a structured plan, serving as a platform for the Panel’s future initiatives.
Subsequently the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean’s (PAM) Steering Committee on Foreign Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean met in Milan, Italy, where the Platform’s action plan was defined, through the experiences and proposals of the main actors in the economic scene of the Mediterranean region. The current situation of SMEs and the obstacles that businessmen have to face, nationally and regionally, in particular in commercial relations between the two Mediterranean shores, were the main topics discussed in order to elaborate concrete actions to facilitate development and economic integration in the region.