Ambassadors from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean member states and other diplomatic representations accredited to Malta, were hosted at the Headquarters of the Assembly in Malta, for the annual briefing on PAM achievements and activities in 2011 and on the forthcoming events for 2012.
PAM Secretary General, Dr. Sergio Piazzi, accompanied by Hon. Jesmond Mugliett, Head of the Maltese Parliamentary delegation to PAM, conveyed a message by the new PAM President, H.E. Senator Fayez Tarawneh, former Prime Minister of Jordan. President Tarawneh expressed his view that the democratic changes in some countries in the South and the economic crisis sweeping the entire Mediterranean region, North and South, impose more cooperation and common efforts to face these challenging times.
Dr. Piazzi continued by reviewing the most strategic activities carried out by PAM, and explained the role the Assembly played, at the regional and international level, in particular in assisting those member states which went through such dramatic changes, and the process aimed at strengthening their democratic institutions. PAM’s role was particularly crucial in assisting and facilitating political missions and humanitarian aid to the Libyan people, especially that of the UN system. PAM was also among the first parliamentary delegations to meet with the new Tunisian authorities, including the President, to assist in the process of the constitutional reform for the country.
The PAM Panel on External Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean, which was launched in Lisbon and became fully operational in Geneva 2011, during the last twelve months went through a phase of further consolidation, with meetings focusing on specific topics, such as the financial and economic situation in the Mediterranean and energy related issues.
The Secretary General also gave a general outline of the programme that PAM has prepared for the 2012 Calendar. Preparations for the PAM-UN-OCSE Meeting on the Constitutional reform process in Bosnia Herzegovina, are well underway, and it will be hosted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta in mid February this year. Dr Piazzi also revealed that the next PAM Bureau Meeting to be held in Amman, Jordan, at the end of January will include important consultations with the Foreign Minister of Jordan and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, both assisting the Israeli and Palestinian parties.
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Piazzi thanked all the diplomats present, and invited them to continue to support PAM’s mission and vision, and to be the key intermediaries and the link between parliamentary and traditional diplomacy, in order to consolidate the synergies required between all stakeholders, to achieve further successes for the benefit of peace and stability in the region and globally.