To reinforce synergies between ongoing activities related to the blue economy in the West Mediterranean and its own pilot project in the sea basin, the MSPglobal Initiative took part in the 8th meeting of the WestMED Initiative Steering Committee organized on 23 October 2019 in Rabat (Morocco).
The Mediterranean is a region where economic issues are intimately linked to maritime activities. Millions of tourists and tons of goods pass through this space, with several thousands of jobs at stake, and these activities must coexist with marine protected areas.
The WestMED Initiative was created to help public institutions, academia, local communities and the private sector from ten countries on both sides of the sea basin develop local and regional maritime projects together to achieve a smarter and more resilient blue economy, and ensure a safer, more secure and better-governed maritime space in the region.
The WestMED Initiative Steering Committee (WMSC) allowed stakeholders to evaluate the implementation of the initiative at national level, taking into account each country’s priorities and related assistance mechanism, as well as to reflect on the outcomes of the outgoing Franco-Moroccan co-presidency and introduce the future Italian-Moroccan co-presidency.
The WMSC includes national coordinators from the relevant ministries from participating countries (France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia), the European Commission and the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat, as well as observers from international organizations and financial institutions, such as the World Bank. Their role is to ensure operational coordination, guidance and necessary support to ensure the initiative’s expected results are achieved.
RELATED LINK:
MSPglobal pilot project in the West Mediterranean
CONTACT:
MSPglobal.comm@unesco.org