The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have reviewed the activities and programmes of both institutions in a series of high-level consultations held by PAM Secretary General, Ambassador Sergio Piazzi, and PAM Senior Adviser, Dr. Nicola Memola in Paris on 31 October 2018, at the HQ of OECD.
The meeting, which followed an invitation by the Secretary General of the OECD, included an in-depth exchange of information and views with senior officials, particularly from the divisions dealing with South East Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Of key interest to PAM are the OECD programmes in the Balkans and the MENA region. Among them, of particular relevance to PAM are those on the Economic Reform Programme, SMEs, Trade and Investment policies, Special Economic Zones, Women’s Economic Empowerment, as well as Competitiveness and Private Sector Development.
OECD on its side expressed interest in the ongoing work of PAM with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the activities of the PAM Economic Panel and of its sectorial groups.
A second meeting shall take place in the coming weeks, which will look at specific events and the laying of the foundations for a strategic partnership and structured cooperation.
While in Paris, Ambassador Piazzi had also the opportunity to meet with the delegates of the French National Assembly to PAM, with whom future activities were discussed, particularly the forthcoming 2nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, which will take place in November 2018. The event will focus on the role of parliamentarians.