10th Meeting of the Group of Transport Ministers of the Western Mediterranean

2021-10-27T14:18:59+00:00 October 6th, 2021|

Ministers of Transport of the ten countries of the 5+5 Dialogue met virtually to discuss developments in the transport sector in the Western Mediterranean.

The meeting took place under the presidency of Malta and was hosted by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, and Capital Projects of Malta, Mr. Ian Borg. The theme of the ministerial conference was “Enhancing connectivity with GTMO African countries within the European framework”.

The discussion focused on ways to enhance the connectivity and sustainability of the transport sector in the Western Mediterranean, as well as the improvement of transport infrastructures in the region.

Representatives of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the International Union of Railways (IUC), and the Secretariat of the International Transport Forum (ITF) attended the conference as observers.

In the conclusions of the meeting, ministers call for greater efforts to implement the GTMO 5+5 core multimodal network, mainly through the creation and implementation of an action plan for the Trans-Maghreb Corridor. Regarding the sustainability of the sector, GTMO 5+5 also decided to promote the inclusion of targeting emissions, resilience, and climate challenges in infrastructure project design in the region, as well as to promote sustainable forms of transport to reduce its externalities on people.

The ministers requested the national experts and the Technical Secretariat of the GTMO 5+5, the Centre for Transportation Studies for the Western Mediterranean (CETMO), to draft a Work Programme for 2021-2023 to implement the conclusions and analyse the means of guaranteeing the financial feasibility of the programme activities.

The 11th meeting of the GTMO 5+5 is expected to take place in 2023 under Libyan presidency.

Finally, the GTMO 5+5 commended the work done by the MedThink 5+5 network with the organisation of the Thematic Seminar “The Western Mediterranean Transport and Logistics Sector in the post-COVID-19 Era: Seizing New Opportunities, Accelerating Transitions”, prior to the ministerial conference.

Consult the conclusions of the ministerial meeting here.