The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) hosted its 10th Regional Forum in Barcelona on Friday, under the theme “Together for a Stronger Euro-Mediterranean Partnership”, marking 30 years since the launch of the Barcelona Process, which laid the foundations for Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and cooperation.

The ministerial meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica. It was hosted by Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, in the presence of UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel.

The forum celebrates three decades of collective commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region, and reaffirms a shared vision for a stronger and more resilient partnership capable of addressing today’s pressing challenges, including inequality, unemployment, rising living costs, shrinking opportunities, and the growing impacts of climate change and water stress.

The ministerial segment of the Regional Forum, scheduled for 28 November, will bring together foreign ministers to discuss the most urgent challenges facing the region — including the concerning situation in the Middle East — and to adopt a new strategic vision for the Union for the Mediterranean.

The new vision, developed through an extensive consultative process, revolves around three core pillars: connecting people through education, mobility, skills and inclusion; connecting countries through dialogue, climate resilience, and energy and water security; and connecting economies by strengthening trade, investment, infrastructure and digital cooperation.

On the margins of the forum, a high-level event will launch the EU Pact for the Mediterranean, which is expected to receive broad political backing from the European Union and its Southern Mediterranean partners.