8th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) group photo;
Credit: UFM
On Sunday 26 and Monday 27 November, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, in his first trip abroad in his new role, participated in the 8th Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), which was held in Barcelona.
The 8th Regional Forum brought together representatives of the 43 UfM member states to discuss the situation in the Middle East, also in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who represented the Ministerial Committee mandated by the Arab-Islamic Summit.
The working meetings demonstrated the relevance of the Union for the Mediterranean as a regional platform for discussion on regional strategic issues. Indeed, beyond being neighbours, the EU countries and the Mediterranean countries constitute a community of states and societies which face the same challenges.
In this context, the meeting allowed representatives of 43 states to discuss the situation in the Middle East, to discuss the path forward to exit the crisis in Gaza, and to move towards a common approach with a view to resolving it.
Minister Bettel thanked Egypt and Qatar for their important mediation efforts which made it possible to reach an agreement on the release by Hamas of a first group of hostages, while expressing his hope to see the all hostages held by Hamas released as soon as possible.
The minister welcomed the organisation of this regional forum which allowed ministers from the EU and Mediterranean countries to have constructive exchanges of views with a view to finding common paths in favour of peace and resolution. of this conflict which has already caused so much suffering on both sides. In this context, the head of Luxembourg diplomacy underlined the importance for the European Union and the entire international community to work together to achieve the two-state solution, in the name of our shared values.
The participants spoke in favour of an extension of the humanitarian truce, which should allow continued humanitarian access as well as the release of all hostages, and which should ultimately lead to a cessation of hostilities. It was also, as Minister Catherine Colonna recalled, the conclusion of the Paris conference on Gaza in which Minister Bettel participated on 9 November.
Furthermore, Xavier Bettel highlighted the risks that a bad reading of this conflict can pose for living together in our societies: we must combat anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all hate speech with the greatest firmness, aimed at further dividing and polarizing our societies.
