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Leading news

The impatience of business displayed in Barcelona
Gathered in Barcelona on 3 and 4 June 2010 at the iniative of Invest in Med and its partners (CEOE, IEMed, Acc1o etc.), the forces of the Euro-Mediterranean economic development (ANIMA, ASCAME, BusinessEurope, BusinessMed, Eurochambres, GUCCIAC and UEAPME) expressed their disappointment vis-a-vis the slowness of implementation of the UfM in the field of the business (download here the Joint Declaration indicating the priorities of the private sector). The so much awaited political summit was delayed. Announced for 2010, the Euromed free trade area should not exist before 2015. The countries are certainly doing progress in the field of reforms and economic co-operation, including in the framework of the Euromed charter for co-operation on industry, but less quickly than their Asian competitors. Fortunately, the Invest in Med programme from the European Commission could show all the pallets of its multiform and concrete action, focused in particular towards the provision of a toolkit for companies. This very positive assessment (download here) was greeted by the participants and the major institutions, of which the European Commission and the EIB. [Read+]

Following the two-day meeting organised by UNIDO on May 27-28, 2010 in Marseille, 50 projects of industrial and technological partnerships have been identified in the fields of environment and agro-food. Well-appreciated by the participants, these business meetings generated a hundred of appointments. Mediterranean businessmen and experts (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia) and nearly 40 French companies attended the event.  [Read+]

Launched in October 2009, Agenda Med is now the first online business calendar in the Mediterranean  with over 470 events identified and 55,000 pages viewed. This tool also enables users to analyse the dynamism of the region and highlight economic platforms such as Istanbul (37 events identified), Tunis (32) or even Algiers (28). To consult or promote your events: www.agenda.biz

The TEXTECHMed initiative invites entrepreneurs, investors and research centres specialising in technical textile to participate in business match-making sessions which will be held in Tunis on June 16-17, 2010. Organised during the international fair TEXMED, the event is aimed at identifying key partnerships and potential customers from the Euromed region as well as opportunities of cooperation in the technical textile.  [Read+]

Partners of the MedZones project will meet on July 7, 2010 in Marseille in the framework of the creation of a Mediterranean offer of efficient and sustainable business parks. After the presentation of tools and methods, Mediterranean actors working in business park settlement, management and stimulation will share their experiences and know-how in order to improve competitiveness of companies and attractiveness of territories.  [Read+]

Start-ups are currently applying to MedVentures via national partners who screen and coach the top 100 start-ups in 10 southern Mediterranean countries, coordinating actions with local innovation networks. Deadline for applications is on June 30. The winners will receive international visibility, coaching and a prizes worth EUR 90,000. The presentation of the best 10 Mediterranean start-ups, along with business meetings and workshops on funding and coaching, are planned on December 3, 2010, in Marseille.  Click here for further information

For the occasion of the For’UM of the Union for the Mediterranean which took place on May 27, 2010, in Marseille, ANIMA introduced to financial institutions and private investors with ANIMA-MedMaps (www.medmaps.eu), the new online Atlas developed within the Invest in Med programme. It allows online viewers to geolocate investment projects and business partnerships in the Mediterranean. Click here to get further information.

On May 31, 2010, in Casablanca, the Moroccan Cleaner Production Center organised in partnership with the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies a workshop on "producers' responsibilities towards European directives: REACH, RoHS and classification and labelling chemical products". This workshop inaugurated the Med Competitiveness initiative aiming at training Moroccan, Egyptian and Lebanese SMEs on the conformity of their products to European environmental directives.  [Read+]

Workshops and business meetings have been organised on May 5-6, 2010 in Algiers, under the Building insulation initiative - Rational use of energy in housing & construction. The business meetings, focused on thermal insulation and solutions on waterproofness, gathered European, Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan companies. A first version of the Guide of Insulation Materials in the Maghreb region was released by the Network of Maghreb Enterprises for the Environment (REME) on this occasion.  [Read+]

On May 11-12, 2010, a dozen Italian companies came to Tetouan and Casablanca, in order to meet with around 50 Moroccan entrepreneurs of the paper sector. Industrials from Algeria, Tunisia and Syria also attend this business event. Altogether, over 200 business meetings have been organised. The last operation of Paper Med, planned on October 11- 12, 2010, in Lucca, Italy, during the international fair MIAC, will be dedicated to the theme of environment in the paper industry.  [Read+]

On May 13, 2010, 20 Mediterranean companies from the building sector participated to the business meetings organised in Lisbon by AIP (Association of Portuguese Industry) during the Tektonica fair. The day after, workshops took place on environmental efficiency in the building sector, with experts from Algeria, Egypt, Spain, France and Portugal. Among them, the Interco Acquitaine Agency introduced the Invest in Med initiative So’ECO.  [Read+]

After the creation of the Med-Tracking Community, the initiative dedicated to the management of containers in the Mediterranean has reached a new step: the validation of concepts regarding the monitoring of securised transport of goods. This new phase will lead to the realisation of a first experimental system. Partners of the projects will meet on June 25, 2010 Civitavecchia, Italy, in order to validate an action plan for the coming year.  [Read+]

According to Algerian authorities, 33 projects dealing with tourism sector are under construction in the wilaya of Setif.  [Lire+]

Egypt is taking several key measures to stimulate local entrepreneurship and attract new foreign investors.  [Read+]

The expectations for Jordan tourism are high for 2010 as the first quarter has shown a considerable rise in terms of both presence and revenue.  [Read+]

The pharmaceutical sector has registered a double digit growth over last few years.  [Read+]

Tunisia and Libya are eager to cooperate in the environmental sector, following a meeting between top officials from both countries.  [Read+]

The stakeholders of the Haliopolis park, a new fishing sector development center in Agadir in the Souss area, plan to invest EUR 500 millions. [Lire+]

In order to enhance its industrial sector, Syria has decided to create 25 new industrial areas across the country.  [Read+]

As of January 2011, the Customs will be aligned to the European regulation in the frame of a cooperation programme with its French counterpart.  [Lire+]  

GAMA Energy will receive a EUR 44 millions loan from TSKB, a Turkish private investment and development bank, to build two wind power plants.  [Read+]

Tunisia: from June 7th to June 12th, 2010;  Lebanon: from May 21st to May 26th, 2010; Syria: from July 5th to July 10th, 2010

The Invest in Med programme aims at developing sustainable trade relationships, investments and enterprise partnerships between the two rims of the Mediterranean. Funded at 75% by the European Union over the 2008-2011 period, it is implemented by the MedAlliance consortium, which associates economic development organisations (ANIMA, leader of the programme), CCIs (ASCAME, EUROCHAMBRES), and business federations (BUSINESSMED). The members of these networks, as well as their special partners (UNIDO, GTZ, EPA Euroméditerranée, World Bank, etc.), gather a thousand of economic actors - mobilised through pilot initiatives centered on key Mediterranean promising niches. Each year, a hundred operations associate the 27 countries of the European Union and 9 Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. www.invest-in-med.eu