Addressing the plenary session, Minister Cerar underlined the youth empowerment mechanism, the Positive Agenda for Youth in the Mediterranean, as one of Slovenia’s main contributions to the Union’s efforts. He announced the second Creative Forum Ljubljana, jointly organised with the Union for the Mediterranean, to be held from 12 to 15 November. In his view, creativity should be recognised as a primary driver of economic, social, cultural and political development in the region.

The Minister highlighted the excellent cooperation between two Euro-Mediterranean universities, Slovenia’s EMUNI and its counterpart in the Moroccan city of Fez. By fostering student exchange and mobility between the countries in the region, they contribute to dialogue and understanding between students and researchers from the entire Mediterranean. In 2021, Slovenia will host a Union for the Mediterranean ministerial conference on higher education, he announced.

There is no local solution to the challenges of migration, climate change, the environment and water, the Minister emphasised. For this reason, close cooperation at the regional and global levels is needed. According to data from the first scientific report on climate change in the Mediterranean, the rise of temperatures in the region is 20% higher than elsewhere in the world, the foreign ministers were briefed.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Minister had bilateral meetings with counterparts Josep Borrell of Spain and Algeria’s Sabri Boukadoum, and Acting Foreign Minister of Albania Gent Cakaj.