The 10 countries agreed on a common roadmap for the development of a sustainable blue economy in the sub-basin to generate growth, create jobs and provide a better living environment for Mediterranean populations, while preserving the Mediterranean ecosystem.

Ministers thanked the work done by the Algerian-French co-presidency and welcomed the incoming French-Moroccan co-chair for 2019.

On the eve of the ministerial meeting, the European Commission and the Co-Presidency of the WestMED Initiative organised a stakeholder conference Towards concrete ‘blue’ actions in the western Mediterranean. The conference gathered over 300 participants. It fostered exchange of project ideas and projects among regional maritime stakeholders (businesses, researchers and institutes, national and local authorities). Project Development Labs with practitioners from across the Western Mediterranean and beyond helped to create strong partnerships and develop strategic projects.

The project ideas, concrete proposals and potential partnerships discussed will benefit from the practical support of the Assistance Mechanism, set up by the European Commission in 2018 to boost the implementation of the WestMED Initiative.

Read more: http://www.westmed-initiative.eu.