Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides participated in the 7th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean and the 4th EU-Southern Neighbourhood Ministerial Meeting, which took place today in Barcelona, Spain.
The discussions focused on the complications caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the food sector and on the issue of energy supply to the countries of the region, as well as on ways of jointly addressing them effectively. In this context, the Ministers exchanged views on securing the future of the new generation, focusing on the issues of research and innovation, labour market participation and improving the socio-economic situation in the Southern Neighbourhood countries.
In his interventions, the Foreign Minister focused on the further promotion of regional multilateralism, which has the potential to deliver results at many levels, on food insecurity and its consequences, as well as on migration flows, underlining the need to Kasoulides welcomed the agreement between Israel and Lebanon on the demarcation of their maritime zones, and stressed the importance of mutually beneficial regional synergies to ensure the energy security of our wider neighbourhood.
The Foreign Minister also underlined the importance of empowering the role of the younger generation and women in terms of participation in entrepreneurship and the labour market, as well as in the decision-making process. He called for closer cooperation between the EU and the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, making full use of the existing channels with the Arab League and the African Union.
In the margins of his presence in Barcelona, the Foreign Minister attended an informal working dinner hosted by the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno, while he had separate bilateral contacts, inter alia, with the Foreign Minister of Morocco, Mr. Mr. Nasser Bourita, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Jordan Mr. Ayman Safadi and the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean Mr. Nasser Kamel.
Mr. Kasoulides returns to Cyprus tomorrow, Friday, 25 November 2022.
(MB)
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