Rome MED 2019

Rome MED 2019

Rome [ENA] ‭The ‬fifth‭ ‬edition ‭ ‬of ‭ ‬Rome MED – Mediterranean Dialogues, the annual conference promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ‭ ‬International ‭ ‬Cooperation and ISPI is taking place in Rome. More than 50 political leaders and about one thousand businessmen, academics and experts from more than fifty countries are taking part in the Meeting . Over the past four years, Rome MED has gathered hundreds

of policy-makers and experts from all around the world with the aim of finding new paths out of the current geopolitical upheavals and ‭writing a positive agenda ‬ for the Mediterranean. Participants in the conference include Idriss Déby ITNO, President of the Republic of Chad, Joseph MUSCAT, Prime Minister of Malta, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim AL-THANI, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and many Foreign Affairs Ministers, among whom: Sabri BOUKADOUM, Algeria; Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed AL-KHALIFA, Bahrain; Sameh SHOUKRY, Egypt; Ayman SAFADI, Jordan; Subrahmanyam JAISHANKAR, India; Mohammad Javadì ZARIF, Iran; Mohammed Ali AL-HAKIM, Iraq; Mohamed Taher SIALA, Libya; Carmelo ABELA, Malta;

Riyad AL-MALKI, Palestine; Sergey LAVROV, Russia; Miroslav CERAR, Slovenia; Sabri BACHTOBJI, Tunisia; Mevlut ÇAVUŞOĞLU, Turkey; as well as Tawakkol KARMAN, Nobel Peace Prize, Yemen; Paolo GENTILONI, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, European Commission; Geir O. PEDERSEN, Special Envoy for Syria, United Nations; Ghassan SALAME ’, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya, United Nations, in addition to the President of the ISPI, Giampiero MASSOLO.

Four thematic sections ‭ ‬structure the Meeting: shared ‭ ‬security, shared prosperity, ‭ ‬migration, culture and civil society . The Meeting focuses on a selection of topics, highlighting both challenges and developments stemming from a region that is undergoing profound transformations. From North Africa to the Middle East, the region is in search of a new reordering. Growing competition among external and regional powers, who seek to strengthen their influence, adds further volatility to the area.

However, the increasing centrality of the Mediterranean in the global system is not only due to the spillovers of these security and so‭cio-economic dynamics beyond the region. Conflicts, crises of legitimacy, struggling economies, socio-economic discontent, ethno-sectarian divides, demographic pressures, irregular migration flows, human trafficking , and climate change continue to upset the region. The presence of the People’s Republic of China as an important actor in the region is more and more impressive. https://youtu.be/PpOU_sWRvtk

The MENA region relies on a strategic position at the intersection of different ‭geopolitical areas and trans-regional ‬networks. The main question yet to address is how to turn the Mediterra‭nean potential into an opportunity for stability and shared growth. Anyway, Roman Mediterranean Dialogues pretends not to see what is happening in Syria, Libya, Yemen. The Europeans have essentially endorsed and adopted the “fait accompli “method in MENA. In Rome behind diplomatic chatter it’s possible to strike up some business behind the scenes. Last but not least, Ghassan SALAME ’, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya, United Nations, declared to be very disappointed for the situation in Lybia because of the escalation.