15-16 May 2024 – The 18th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) will be held in Braga, kindly hosted by the Parliament of Portugal.
More than 250 delegates will participate in the event from 26 national parliaments, 25 international organizations and 10 diplomatic representations.
On 15 May, the Opening Ceremony foresees several distinguished guests, including Speakers and Deputy Speakers of national and international Parliaments, as well as representatives of governments international organizations and the UN system.
The session will begin with a welcoming address by H.E. Hon. José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, President of the Portuguese Parliament, followed by a message of H.E. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Republic of Portugal.
Then, H.E. Hon. Enaam Mayara, PAM President and Speaker of the House of Councilors of the Kingdom of Morocco, will deliver the opening remarks, followed by messages from the UN Secretary-General, H.E. António Guterres, and the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Dennis Francis.
During the Opening Ceremony, the first segment of PAM Award Ceremony will take place. This year, the Award is dedicated to both individuals and institutions, which have provided either political mediation andor life-saving humanitarian assistance during natural and man-made disasters, so contributing to alleviating the suffering of people facing catastrophic events and wars.
PAM delegates will then engage in substantive debates on the work accomplished by the 3rd and 2nd PAM Standing Committees, chaired respectively by Hon. Pedro Roque (Portugal) and Hon. Giulio Centemero (Italy). Presentations and briefings by top experts and representatives from international agencies, such as the UN Security Council / CTED, UNODC, WTO, IAEA, and private sector, will cover issues, including, among others, human rights, human trafficking, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, migration, environment, economic integration, energy and climate change.
On the second day, the work of the 1st Standing Committee on Political and Security-related Cooperation, chaired by Sen. Alia Bouran (Jordan), will address and debate the most pressing geopolitical and security challenges of the PAM regions.
This segment will be opened by Mr. Álvaro Castello-Branco, Assistant Secretary of State for National Defence of Portugal, followed by the representative of NATO PA and a special address by Amb. Shaukat Fareed, PAM Permanent Observer at the UN in New York, on Global Governance and ongoing discussions at UNHQ. How parliamentarians can support the process towards the Summit of the Future.
At the end of the Plenary Session, delegates will be provided with a management and administrative update, and the new Presidency team of the PAM Women Parliamentary Forum (WPF) will be elected for the biennium 2024-2026. //