*/ Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network (HMLN)  5 Online Sessions : May 16, May 30, May 31, June 1, June 2.    CONTEXT AND RATIONALE Municipalities hosting refugees face the pressing need to create smart jobs for local and refugee communities. This need is further exacerbated by the growing youth unemployment rate in the MENA region...

Objectives The event will be structured around the presentation of the CMI policy paper on "Youth, Actors for Change: Rethinking Mobility". Giulia Marchesini, Human Capital Senior Programme Manager at the CMI/UNOPS, will present and discuss the findings and recommendations of the paper with experts and representatives from Italian institutions and...

    Announcement   The UK is currently hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow. The first-ever Water & Climate Pavilion is mobilizing the water community and partners in the global climate action community, in order to shed light on the role of water in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and to...

Background In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges in countries already struggling to manage the additional social and economic pressure of hosting refugees and displaced. The lockdown measures put in place in many countries led to closure of businesses and halt of economic activities. Although social support measures were put in...

Background COVID-19 has had severe economic impacts on local economies and communities, particularly the most vulnerable. The pandemic has disrupted supply chains and led to reverse migration, stagnant rural non-farm economies, and devastating consequences for community/women groups, youth, and informal workers.  Extreme poverty is likely to...

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Barcelona Process, this report examines the various dimensions of Mediterranean integration in today’s context and provides policy recommendations for enhancing Mediterranean integration, beyond trade agreements. The report suggests enhancing growth through comprehensive trade reforms, while also...

  Background & Context The Summit of the Two Shores, an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron took place in Marseille on 24 June 2019. Building on unprecedented consultations with Mediterranean civil society, this event aims to boost cooperation between countries in the Western Mediterranean by implementing projects that support...

Click here to see the full picture.   Context   The recent coronavirus crisis threatens the health, economies and societies of any country, regardless of its level of development. In the countries of the East and South of the Mediterranean the fight against the pandemic is even more complicated. It must be done with limited healthcare and economic...

In this interview, MENA Economic Update authors Ha Nguyen, World Bank Senior Economist for MENA, and Blanca Moreno-Dodson, Director of the Centre for Mediterranean Integration, explain just how trade openness in the region can be significant in achieving inclusiveness and alleviating poverty, and how there is a key opportunity now to move towards...

    As the region’s economic growth craters, current account, and fiscal balances are deteriorating and public debt is projected to rise significantly.     WASHINGTON, October 19, 2020 — Trade and integration — within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and with the rest of the world — will be critical to lowering poverty, empowering...