The agreement between Malta and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) on the juridical status of the Assembly was presented to the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs by H.E. Mr. Saviour F. Borg, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations, and by Dr. Sergio Piazzi, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. The Headquarters Agreement and the Instruments were also deposited. The documents were handed over to Ms. Annebeth Rosenboom, Chief of the Treaty Section of the Office of Legal Affairs, in a ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York on 23rd January 2009.
The visit to New York was also an occasion for the Secretary General of PAM to hold a series of bilateral meetings with a number of senior UN officials with whom the establishment of institutional relations and the forthcoming visit to the Middle East by an Assembly’s delegation were discussed. Dr. Piazzi explained the objectives of the parliamentarians’ mission and obtained the assurances of the UN officials that this initiative will receive the necessary support in order to be conducted smoothly and with the highest possible opportunities to achieve the results sought.
Other important contacts were held with H.E. Jean-Maurice Ripert, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, who will assist in the preparation of the agenda for the upcoming visit to New York by PAM President, the Hon. Rudy Salles of France. The highlight of the intensive New York programme of Mr. Salles will be the meeting with top UN officials, to be followed by a visit to Washington D.C. to meet with representatives of the United States Senate and the Obama administration.
“The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean has a unique role to play in the region as it is fully engaged in the exercise of parliamentary diplomacy, and its efforts are exclusively dedicated to the Mediterranean basin. However, PAM is of the opinion that only through synergies with other institutions, including the UN’s various regional initiatives, ideas can materialize into tangible projects towards the achievement of long lasting solutions for the wellbeing of the Mediterranean peoples,” Dr. Piazzi said.