The Executive Members of the Energy Group of the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean will meet today, 4 May, 2013, in Rabat, following the works of the Steering Committee of the same Panel hosted yesterday by the Parliament of Morocco
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The previous meeting of the Energy Group was held in Ouarzazate, Morocco, when the Mediterranean Energy Community project was launched.
Progress on this initiative together with developments in the legislative and regulatory frameworks, the financial mechanisms to facilitate the regional integrated approach, the creation of a regional Mediterranean Energy Centre for training and information, as well as the transfer of knowhow among key players in this sector, are at the centre of the debate.
The implications for PAM and its partners in the Energy Sector emanating from the Joint Communication of the European Commission “Supporting Closer Cooperation and Regional Integration in the Maghreb: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia” (17 December 2012), will also be addressed.
Participating together with Parliamentarians from PAM member states, are representatives of the major stakeholders, including, MEDGRID, MEDPRO, MEDREG, Med-TSO, the Mediterranean Observatory on Energy (OME), STEG, UNECE, UNIDO and the World Bank.
Background note
The PAM Panel on Trade and Investments
The “PAM Panel on Trade and Investments in the Mediterranean” was launched in Lisbon, Portugal, on 27-28 May 2010, on the occasion of a special meeting hosted by the Portuguese parliament, following a request, made by several national delegations, for a stronger commitment from PAM on economic cooperation and integration in the region.
The aim of the PAM Panel is to gather, around the same table, parliamentarians and representatives of the economic and financial sector (primarily investments promotion agencies, chambers of commerce, financial institutions, governmental bodies and agencies, business and consumers’ associations and international organisations), in order to assess, promote and support measures needed to contribute to economic progress and sustainable development, including through legislative action. The PAM Panel acts as a comprehensive and multidisciplinary group with the purpose of addressing common challenges, identifying obstacles and proposing concrete actions for the promotion and support of trade and investment of this region, with, amongst others, the following objectives:
• Stimulate trade in the Mediterranean area and support the establishment of a Free Mediterranean Trade Zone
• Sustain SMEs activities
• Facilitate investments and access to finance
Promote job creation