UfM: New order necessary in the Mediterranean, Gentiloni – ANSAmed

ROME - Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni on Friday addressed a meeting of presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean in the Senate in Rome saying that, ''as well as working to try to govern the ongoing crises and to fight together against terrorism and migrant trafficking, there is a commitment'' to start creating a ''possible new order in the Mediterranean''.

The premier continued saying that ''talking now of this new order, looking at the current crises and difficulties, can appear a utopia'', but added that ''new social demands require a more stable region'' and ''we have huge potential''.

''Parliamentary diplomacy can accomplish a lot'' in this respect, said Gentiloni.

''Italy is a strip of land overlooking the Mediterranean'', Gentiloni went on to say. ''We have 8,000 km of coasts. And civilizations prospered in this sea, three great monotheistic religions, extraordinary cultural and commercial activities. We are today the heirs of this great heritage. This fundamental place of universal civilization has however been at the center, over the past few years, of a gradual process of instability.

And the Mediterranean has become a place where instability and conflicts have spread'', with very serious phenomena including migration flows ''managed by trafficking rings'', radicalization and terrorism.

Gentiloni said all this ''gives us a responsibility''.

''We have worked over the past few years to put the Mediterranean issue at the center of the European political agenda - he recalled - Europe needed to look at the south and Italy worked so that it would be understood how fundamental it is to look towards the south. And we are still working on this, both in our role as rotating presidents of the G7, which will meet in Sicily in June and will have as a focus relations with Africa'' and ''we are dealing with this also in our relations with Osce and the Mediterranean, in our role as rotating presidents, in the so-called Berlin process and in the summit to be held in Trieste in the coming weeks''. ''And when we talk about the Mediterranean - he observed - we cannot forget the issue of the development of the Balkans''.

According to the premier, the ''Mediterranean must be placed at the center of political agendas, not only because ongoing crises must be contained and resolved, starting with Syria'', but also because ''if all these challenges will not be confronted'' by finding an effective solution, ''a policy of peace and development in the region will be increasingly difficult''.

For this reason, he assured, ''it is necessary to start weaving the web of a new order in the Mediterranean'' although such an effort can appear unrealistic. ''We have great potential'', he said, recalling that next Sunday he will be in China ''for a summit on silk roads'' because trade with that part of the world ''has been a great opportunity for all of us for centuries''.

Read more:

UfM: New order necessary in the Mediterranean, Gentiloni - ANSAmed