During his institutional mission to Morocco in June, the President of ASCAME, Dr. Josep Santacreu, formalized a new strategic partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mr. Giulio Centemero, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM). The agreement, concluded during the IV PAM Parliamentary Economic Forum held this month in Marrakech, brings together parliamentary diplomacy and the Mediterranean private sector, creating a powerful framework to advance sustainable growth, deepen regional integration, and foster innovation across the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions.
The PAM is an international parliamentary organization and a permanent observer at the United Nations General Assembly, which brings together 35 members and associate parliaments from the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions. They all discuss the most pressing common challenges, such as regional conflicts, security and counterterrorism, humanitarian crises, economic integration, trade and investments, job creation, climate change, mass migrations, education, human rights and inter-faith dialogue.
Areas of cooperation
Together, ASCAME and PAM will work to:
- Advancing regional economic integration and trade facilitation, intraregional investments and harmonized regulatory frameworks, taking into consideration the key outcomes of the PAM Marrakech Forum and ASCAME’s Barcelona Declaration for Mediterranean Economic Development.
- Fostering SME’s development through targeted support mechanisms to foster high-quality job creation, including in the Blue Economy sector.
- Promoting robust public-private partnerships (PPPs) to mobilize private capital and integrate advanced technological innovation into regional sectors.
- Strengthening human capital by enhancing academic cooperation, vocational training, access to the labor market and youth engagement through the PAM Academic Platform and the PAM Youth Initiative.
- Promoting sustainable and intraregional tourism to harmonize the preservation of the regions’ cultural and environmental heritage and to optimize the use of natural resources, such as freshwater.
Both parties committed to organizing joint events, conducting shared research, exchanging information, consulting on common issues, and involving each other’s experts in meetings. They also agreed to participate in one another’s activities, collaborate at international fairs and conferences, and grant each other appropriate observer or associate status in accordance with their statutes.
This MoU marks a new chapter in Mediterranean cooperation, reinforcing a shared commitment to prosperity, stability, and innovation across the region. It lays the foundation for deeper dialogue, stronger partnerships, and more coordinated action, ensuring that both parties can work together to address emerging challenges and seize new opportunities.