Celebration of the 9th GTMO 5+5 Meeting in Nouakchott

2018-12-13T12:38:47+00:00 December 13th, 2018|

The 9th Ministerial meeting of Transports of the “Dialogue 5 + 5” was held in Nouakchott on 12th December within the framework of the Group of Ministers of Transports of the Western Mediterranean (GTMO 5+5). The Ministers welcomed the achievements accomplished during the Portuguese presidency of the GTMO 5+5 and welcomed the start of the Mauritanian mandate. Along the lines of the Protocol for the Cooperation in Transports in Western Mediterranean established in Tunis in 2007, the Ministers thus discussed in depth about their commitments regarding transports and connectivity in the Western Mediterranean.

During the meeting, the Ministers welcomed the presence of the UfM, the UMA, the EU and the International Union of Railways as observers and urged these institutions to keep supporting the improvement of the infrastructure linking the 5+5 countries. They also extended this call to public and private financial institutions to help achieve territorial integration.

They also recognised the role deployed by the Center of Studies for Transports in the Western Mediterranean (CETMO) in the accomplishment of the goals of the GTMO 5+5. CETMO was one of the founding members of the MedThink 5 + 5 and since 1997 has been acting as Technical Secretariat of the GTMO 5 + 5, with the aim of fostering the development of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation regarding transport.

Among the main topics discussed at the meeting, they highlighted the importance of the preservation and enhancement of North-South maritime connections as a tool for regional competitiveness, as well as the creation of new infrastructures such as the ones needed for the achievement of the Trans-Maghreb Multimodal Transport Corridor to develop trade in the area. Furthermore, they put especial emphasis on the relevance of meeting these goals in accordance with UN’s SDGs, as well as on the relevance of improving road safety and respect for sustainable environmental standards.

You can find the Final Declaration of the 9th Conference of the GTMO here (in French): https://medthink5plus5.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Neuvieme-conference-des-ministres-GTMO-55-Relevé-de-conclusions-2.pdf