Egypt to host the fourth ministerial meeting for Union of Mediterranean

CAIRO – 26 November 2017: Egypt will host the fourth Ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) on November 27 to discuss means of "Strengthening the role of women in society". The event is organized by the National Council for Women (NCW) in cooperation with the Union for the Mediterranean, and the United Nations for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

Representatives of 43 members of the Union, regional and international multilateral organizations and agencies, as well as private sector and non-governmental organizations, will participate in the event.

The meeting is expected to come out with a ministerial declaration recommending the enforcement of concrete action by all countries and concerned authorities in the region. The declaration will aim to "activate" the commitments, which member states have already agreed on during previous declarations.

In 2013 – in Paris – ministers of the union’s 43 member states agreed on the third ministerial declaration regarding the strengthening of women’s role in society. Member states are committed to taking adequate measures and policies which ensure the equal participation of women and men in the political, economic civil and social life.

In May 2015, a regional multi-partner dialogue on the empowerment of women was held, with the participation of the Union for the Mediterranean countries as well as regional and international partners, in the Euro-Mediterranean region – including civil society – to review progress in implementing the 2013 ministerial plan and to prepare recommendations for the fourth ministerial meeting.

The UfM is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: 28 member states from the European Union and 15 Mediterranean partner countries from the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Europe.

It was created in July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, with a view to reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed) that was set up in 1995 and known as the Barcelona Process.

The Union has the aim of promoting stability and integration throughout the Mediterranean region. It is a forum for discussing regional strategic issues, based on the principles of shared ownership, shared decision-making and shared responsibility between the two shores of the Mediterranean.