Development

Tourism will be one of most affected sectors by the Covid-19 pandemic, since this sector cannot be isolated from the local, national or global context in which it operates. Many jobs are being threatened around the world, especially in the Mediterranean region, because whether it is epidemics, pandemics, war, economic crises or natural disasters, what happens in the environment also affects tourism.

ASCAME calls for the unity of the international community to give a common, strong and decisive response to the challenges posed by the spread of the virus.

ASCAME calls on all Mediterranean countries to put in place exceptional measures to support businesses affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19).

Women entrepreneurs are increasingly present in Mediterranean economies. Young and highly-trained people from the southern Mediterranean countries, including those that undergone the Arab Spring revolutions, claim the same opportunities as their counterparts on the north shore to get a job according to their training and even to start up their own businesses.

As one of the main partners of the European Project ‘Blue Growth Community’, ASCAME co-organised the project’s first Annual Assembly, held on the 4th and 5th of February in Montpellier. The 2-day event gathered several Blue Growth Community members to move forward in Blue Growth projects and enhance ties with key stakeholders, such as the Mediterranean Regions.

The Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders, MedaWeek Barcelona, ​​concluded its 13th edition with a total of 1,280 international participants. Sustainable economy, the incorporation of female talent into the regional economy and the opening of the African market to Mediterranean companies were the key axes of the main economic event in the region.

The 13th edition of MedaWeek Barcelona 2019, the ‘Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders’, that will take place in Barcelona the following 20th, 21st and 22nd of November, will focus on the important role of women in the development of the economies in the region. The Mediterranean Women Entrepreneurs Forum constitutes the biggest gathering of women entrepreneurs from both shores of the Mediterranean.

MedaWeek Barcelona 2019, the ‘Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders’, will place climate change in the centre of attention of the economies of the region on the 23rd of November during the 8th edition of the ‘EcoMeda Sustainability Summit’. A meeting in which potential measures to face the rising temperatures and rising sea levels will be discussed.

The 5th Islamic Finance Forum will be held on the 21st of November during a new edition of MedaWeek Barcelona, the ‘Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders’, organised by ASCAME (Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and CIBAFI (General Council for Islamic Banks And Financial Institutions). A meeting in which numerous islamic financial and investment products will be presented, based on ethics and responsibility, as an alternative to the western financial system.

The Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders (MedaWeek Barcelona 2019) will host a new edition of the New Africa Business Development Forum (NABDF), which will highlight the importance of regional collaboration to set Africa’s route towards a new phase of economic growth and development. It will also present some of the potential investment and trade opportunities offered by the African continent.