Blog

Dear Partners, Colleagues, and Friends of the CMI,

On behalf of the CMI Members and team, I am glad to announce the birth of the "New CMI". We have been busy completing this transition over the summer. Below is a recapitulation of the main novelties:

CMI Joins the United Nations

As of July 1st, 2021, and eleven years after its creation by the World Bank and the French government in Marseille, France, the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) has officially joined the United Nations (UN),  hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

Renewed Mandate: Implementing SDG17 in the Mediterranean

Under the auspices of the UN, the CMI has been entrusted with a renewed mandate: Implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17, Partnerships in the Mediterranean.

The UN SDG Goal 17, defined as “Partnerships for the goals'', " is based on recognizing that the SDGs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and regional cooperation. By operating under the UN constituency, the CMI will act as a regional initiative specialized in implementing SDG17 in the Mediterranean by revitalizing partnerships for sustainable development and regional integration.

UN-Habitat joins the CMI as Member

In July 2021, the CMI formally welcomed UN-Habitat as a new member. Long time partner of the CMI, the participation of UN-Habitat in strategic decisions, particularly in connection with the forced displacement agenda, will be conducive to achieving further synergies within the UN.

Currently, CMI Members are the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, the European External Action Service (observer), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, the City of Marseille, the European Investment Bank, UN-Habitat, and the World Bank.  

Governance Adapted, Morocco Elected President of the Center's Oversight Committee

As this new phase is being launched, the CMI’s governance has also been adapted. Following the World Bank, the chairmanship will rotate every three years among the Members of the Center, starting with the Kingdom of Morocco that was elected to the Presidency of the CMI's Oversight Committee for the period between 2021-2024.

This new governance model is a signal of the Members' strong involvement in the Center's activities.

The World Bank Group Remains an Active Member

The World Bank will remain an active member. At the strategic level, it will continue contributing to the Center’s main orientations. On the operational side, it will maintain its financial support and the solid technical partnerships built over the years.

Thematic Focus and Business Lines

With this new impetus, the CMI will pursue the overarching goal of enhancing Mediterranean integration. Socioeconomic transformation, resilience to conflict, and proactively fighting climate change, along with gender and youth as transversal dimensions, will remain the overarching objectives of the CMI to be achieved through regional partnerships. A new Strategy for CMI for 2021-2024 is being prepared.

In pursuing SDG17, the CMI will aim at enhancing Mediterranean integration by delivering analytical products, knowledge exchanges, capacity building, and incubation of investment regional projects.  

A New Scientific Council for Technical Excellence

A new Scientific Council composed of a group of 12 renowned Mediterranean academics and experts in various areas relevant to the CMI’s work was created in May 2021. The Scientific Council will provide quality control and scientific advice on specific thematic issues, and assist in liaising with academics, think tanks, and research centers.

Same Offices, Same Team

The CMI offices remain hosted by France in the city of Marseille. After ten years at Villa Valmer, the CMI offices have been located at La Tour Marseillaise since 2021.

The CMI team remains the same, only with a renewed enthusiasm!

I take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your trust and look forward to pursuing enhancing Mediterranean Integration together. Many actors are involved. Many lives will benefit from such integration. Now is the time to push forward.

Blanca Moreno-Dodson, 

Director of the Center for Mediterranean Integration