Fostering regional dialogue on energy
Barcelona 2015 – Hosted by the Minister of Energy of Morocco, Abdelkader Amara, the UfM Co-Presidency represented by the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, and the Secretary General of Energy and Natural Resources of Jordan, Ghaleb Maabreh, together with the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Fathallah Sijilmassi, launched on 6 May a new mechanism to promote regional dialogue on three key topics for the energy sector in the region: gas, the regional electricity market and renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Designed to be flexible and swift mechanisms for exchange and cooperation, these UfM platforms on energy aim to facilitate partnerships based on mutual trust and transparency between UfM Member States as well as with the relevant energy stakeholders in the region.
Built on UfM’s work carried out following the UfM Ministerial Conference on Energy held in Brussels on 11 December 2013, these platforms will be the appropriate framework for a more structured dialogue on energy in the region.
“We need to set the conditions of investment beyond current market fragmentation,” said the UfM’s Secretary General. “The creation of these platforms will help structure energy cooperation in the region in order to better respond to geopolitical, economic and social stakeholders,” added Sijilmassi.
According to the World Bank, investment to cover energy needs in the Mediterranean will come to €23 billion per year by 2030.
