Background & Context

The Summit of the Two Shores of the Western Mediterranean (Marseille, June 23–24, 2019) brought together the countries of the 5+5 Dialogue (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia from the south; France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain from the north) plus the European Union, Germany, and multilateral and pan-Mediterranean organizations active in the region, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and integration in the Mediterranean region. 

To this end, at the summit, the ministers of foreign affairs of the 5+5 Dialogue states signed the Commitments for a New Ambition in the Mediterranean to implement the projects that civil society organizations proposed in order to provide a collective response to common challenges in the Mediterranean.

The commitments are organized in five major thematic clusters based on the conclusions of a wide consultative process conducted through five preparatory fora that addressed the main themes of the new Mediterranean agenda: youth, education, and mobility; economy and competitiveness; renewable energy; environment and sustainable development; and culture, media, and tourism. 

In the third Mediterranean of the Future high-level event (Marseille, November 26, 2019), Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, highlighted the need for a collective digital platform to monitor implementation of all the summit’s initiatives and gave CMI a mandate to create and host such a digital platform.

Objectives 

The Summit of the Two Shores, recently renamed Dialogue of the Two Shores to reflect its wider scope, heralds a new era in the western Mediterranean and lays the foundations of a different policy in the region, based on dialogue between political leadership and civil society, paving the way for renewed regional cooperation and, ultimately, a more inclusive Mediterranean.

It is expected that this goal can be achieved through concrete projects and solutions favoring sustainable human and economic development in the region. Ensuring the implementation of the summit’s projects through capacity building and financing, and identifying synergies between the different projects will contribute to achieving the new collaborative and inclusive vision for the Mediterranean. Lead organization (s) Ministries of foreign affairs of the 5+5 countries  

Ensuring the implementation of the summit’s projects through capacity building and financing, and identifying synergies between the different projects will contribute to achieving the new collaborative and inclusive vision for the Mediterranean. Lead organization (s) Ministries of foreign affairs of the 5+5 countries 

Lead organizations 

Ministries of foreign affairs of the 5+5 countries 

Partner organizations

Agence Française de Développement, European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank, European Commission, OECD, UfM, Anna Lindh Foundation

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Few Words on the Summit

Resources

• French Ministry for Europe & Foreign Affairs factsheet on the Summit of the Two Shores, the Forum of the Mediterranean [Fr, En]
• Speech by the President of the French Republic at the Conference of French Ambassadors [En, Fr]