The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Hon. Mohammed Abu El Enein, presided over the 15th Bureau Meeting, which was hosted by the Italian Parliament in Rome on 22 January 2011.
The PAM Bureau members were welcomed by the Vice President of the Italian Senate, Senator Emma Bonino, who delivered a strong political message on the situation in the Mediterranean, underpinning the need to evaluate the current political, economic and social trends, in order to address the challenges facing the region. Sen. Bonino also underlined the crucial role that PAM is called to play and invited PAM to give its full support and assistance to the G8 Broad Middle East process. PAM was also invited by Sen. Bonino to participate in the upcoming Congress of the Transnational Radical Party.
After thanking Sen. Bonino for her observations and the vision expressed for the future of the Mediterranean, PAM President, Hon. El Enein, opened the discussions and deliberations of the Bureau. In his introductory intervention, Hon. El Enein emphasised the role and responsibility of parliamentarians in fostering peace, security and stability at both the national and regional levels. “This can be also achieved through the instruments that the PAM, as a platform for parliamentary diplomacy, is offering”, Hon. El Enein said. Under his presidency, Hon. El Enein added, the Assembly will continue to stress and to develop its actions within the political, economic and social spheres individually and above all as a set of common and inter-related factors, that can foster further stability in the region. “Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue must continue to enlighten the work of the Assembly and the interest of the citizens will continue to prevail”, the PAM President added.
Discussions during the meeting dealt with the following issues:
• The ongoing democratic changes in Tunisia and the preparedness of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean to assist, should its help be requested, by the Tunisian Parliaments.
• The freedom of religion and the protection of religious minorities in the Middle East and inter-religious dialogue was highlighted and discussed, as a matter of urgency in view of the bilateral meeting between the PAM President and the Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See.
• The need was stressed to push the peace process through new initiative presented by parliamentarians in the Mediterranean, for the convergence of views between the Palestinian and Israeli sides and the return of the parties to the negotiating table.
• The PAM Panel on External Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean was among the topics raised. Mrs Teresa Ribeiro, Co-Chair of the Panel explained to the Bureau the outcome of the Panel’s 1st Operational Meeting held in Naples last November. She also gave an overview of the working structure and the assignment of responsibilities in the different sectors covered by the Panel. She also highlighted the positive approach of the World Bank and of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), who have expressed their full support and participation in the PAM Panel’s activities. On 4-5 May 2011, UNECE will co-host a meeting in Geneva on Trade Facilitation in the Mediterranean Region.
• The Bureau also reviewed the calendar of Events that PAM will be organising throughout 2011. This includes the most important ongoing issues such as terrorism, organised crime, environment, energy, water, gender and migration. Particular emphasis was given to the Meeting on the constitutional reform process in Bosnia-Herzegovina, being organised by PAM on the request of the United Nations and the participation of OCSE.
Furthermore, on the initiative of Hon. El Enein, the PAM Secretary General, is organising a mission to New York, in March, for a high-level meeting, with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, and for consultations with UN Senior officials, inter alia, Mr. B. Lynn Pascoe, UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Mr. Alain Le Roy, UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, and Mrs. Valerie Amos, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs.
In his concluding remarks, President Abou El-Enein referred to the future vision of cooperation between the North and the South of the Mediterranean. He called for a road map towards the achievement of common goals and within a specific time schedule, under the banner of “Partnership from trade to growth” to boost economic, social and political cooperation in the Mediterranean basin, and the creation of a common region of peace and prosperity. He added that this is the vision of the future, which will increase the competitiveness of the Mediterranean region and its place in the new economic map of the world. It will change the perception of the South as a region of challenges to the repository of a huge growth for the North and South through its demographic and economic dynamics.
The President of the Assembly also emphasized the urgent need to strengthen Mediterranean solidarity for the protection of social security in the Mediterranean basin. He pointed out that the social impacts of global crises affect the social and political stability in the Mediterranean basin as a whole. He called for the development of a Mediterranean strategy for employment, the strengthening of cooperation in the rehabilitation and training of human resources, to develope social safety nets and deepening and broadening economic integration in the Mediterranean basin to include, in addition to the free movement of goods, trade liberalization in services and agricultural products and the movement of labor and capital.
During the Bureau discussions the Assembly’s Communications Strategy and the role of National parliaments to integrate PAM’s outreach activities and the Statutory Report on the financial status of PAM, were presented by the PAM Secretary General, Dr. Sergio Piazzi.
The next Bureau meeting will be held in Ankara, Turkey, on 11-12 March 2011 and will be hosted by the Turkish Parliament. On that occasion the Bureau will meet with the Turkish Prime Minister, Hon. Recep Tayyib Erdogan, with whom issues of regional interest will be discussed.