The second day of proceedings within the 4th Meeting of the Standing Committees convening in Lisbon, Portugal, continued on Thursday 25th June with the presentation, discussion and endorsement of a number of Reports and Resolutions falling within the remit of the Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation briefing of the PAM 2nd Standing Committee. The meeting was presided over by Hon Suleiman Ghneimat (Jordan), who is also Vice President of PAM. The Mediterranean parliamentarians were first introduced to the activities of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, Assistant Secretary-General of ISDR, presented a general overview of her Agency’s role in both developed and poverty stricken countries, both of which are prone to all kinds of disasters. She insisted on the need to consider disasters as development issues where all institutions are involved, from civil society to the private sector alike.
The works continued with the endorsement of other reports and resolutions, namely: Disaster Management presented by the Rapporteur Hon. Jose Junquiero (Portugal); Environment and Climate Change by the Rapporteur Hon. Elissavet Papadimitriou (Greece); Water presented by Hon. Jacques Blanc; Energy by the Rapporteur Mohammed Abou El-Enein (Egypt); and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by Hon. Ridha Bouargoub (Tunisia).
After a brief presentation on the identification of key activities for 2010 under the 2nd Standing Committee, the Secretary General of PAM took the floor to illustrate the financial position of the Assembly following almost two full years of activity by the Secretariat that has executed the Plenary Sessions’ indications taken in Malta in 2007 and in Monaco in 2008.
Today, the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilizations and Human Rights will be discussing further reports and resolutions dealing with migration, gender and equality issues and dialogue of cultures and religions. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Mr. Basilio Horta,
President of the Business Development Agency (AICEP) of Portugal and by Mr. Christophe Lecourtier, Director General, UBI France, the French Agency for International Business Development. A paper on “PAM Communications and Outreach Strategy- Lessons Learned” will also be presented.
The 4th Meeting of the 3 PAM Standing Committees hosted in Lisbon by the Assembly of Portugal will thus come to an end with another important step forward within the Mediterranean parliamentary dimension. Parliamentarians in representation of PAM member states and guest speakers brought forward their experiences, local approaches, proposals and practical examples of best practices which have once more given the Assembly a wealth of information and a renewed knowledge base which will be considered for future translation into actions for the benefit of the Mediterranean populations.