On 18 November 2021, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) signed 5 new Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) with partner entities, on the margins of the 43rd PAM bureau meeting. The agreements aim at promoting greater cooperation between PAM and its diverse partners, namely parliamentary bodies, civil society, and academia.

In his introductory remarks to the signing ceremonies, PAM Secretary General, Amb. Sergio Piazzi welcomed all PAM partners; the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Vittorio Occorsio Foundation, the Global Parliamentarians Network to End Infectious Diseases (UNITE), and the University Parthenope. Representatives of partner counterparts, PAM bureau members and guests attended the event. 

PAM President, Hon. Gennari Migliore extended a warm welcome to all partners, expressing the great privilege of PAM to sign these cooperation agreements with distinguished partners. He further emphasized that these partnerships would strengthen the Assembly’s work and consolidate common effort to make positive progress on different dossiers.

On the MOU signed with the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Hon. Migliore highlighted the many commonalities-in objectives and structures-that tie the two organizations. He invited BSPC to coordinate closely with PAM Secretariat on different priority areas, particularly “to create a space for inclusive dialogue between neighboring countries and overcome all the challenges due to the geo-political and economic complexity of our regions.” For his part, PAM President pledged to keep BSPC updated on the upcoming opportunities for collaboration. 

PAM has been cooperating closely with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association since 2012. The MOU crowned those efforts that began when former CPA Secretary General, H.E. William Ferdinand Shijah participated in the 7th PAM Plenary Session to establish such collaboration. In his address, PAM President underlined PAM’s appreciation of this engagement and expressed PAM’s pleasure “to contribute to the consultations for the CPA Strategy review last year”, which he stressed presented “an excellent opportunity to renew, strengthen and structure this partnership on several areas of mutual interest such as economic development, climate change, human rights, gender equality, crisis management, response to the COVID-19 pandemic and public health governance.”

Proceeding from PAM’s great concern and interest in combating transnational organized crime and terrorism in general, PAM signed the MOU with Vittorio Occorsio Foundation, one of the leading civil society organizations engaged in the fight against all forms of crime and terrorism.  Addressing the signing ceremony, Hon. Migliore underlined the value added by such cooperation, thanks to the Foundation’s “expertise on very delicate issues, such as the impact of artificial intelligence, new technologies, and digitization processes on crime prevention and criminal justice.” PAM President further stressed that: “it is a key priority for PAM to evaluate the legal systems of our Member States to ensure that they are prepared to deal with new and emerging trends in organized crime.”

As the world faces the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19, PAM signed a MOU with UNITE, in an attempt to assist its endeavors to bring together parliaments in the fight against infectious diseases. In his speech, Hon. Migliore said it was a privilege for PAM to be part of the ambitious vision of UNITE. He stressed that “through this agreement, PAM and UNITE will be able to…share best legislative practices on health governance, crisis response, and mutual cooperation on prevention of disease, including vaccine development and distribution.” PAM President added that: “both parties will be able to actively participate in each other’s activities, organize joint events, conferences and webinars, conduct joint research and policy analysis, collaborate in training activities and share information through formal and informal consultations on issues of common interest.” 

Last but not least, PAM signed a MOU with University Parthenope of Napoli, as the Assembly attaches great importance to cooperation with the academic circles. PAM President, Hon. Migliore noted that PAM has already cooperated with University Parthenope in the field of energy security in the Mediterranean area, stating that their studies on Economy and Energy in the Mediterranean Region, coordinated by Prof.ssa Silvana Bartoletto (Department of Economic and Legal Studies), are a key reference for PAM on this crucial topic. Hon. Migliore said that PAM will soon organize an conference on energy security, adding that the University can indeed play an important role in the success of this conference and other important initiatives.