Address by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the opening ceremony of the 8th edition of the Rome MED Dialogues International Conference                           

Courtesy translation

Mister President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,

Mister President of the Republic of Niger,

Mister Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,

Mister President of the Institute for International Political Studies,

Authorities,

Dear guests,

​Having reached the eighth edition of the “Mediterranean Dialogues” is certainly a reason for satisfaction and I am happy to be able to open the meeting.

The presence of President Ghazouani and of President Bazoum addsfurther depth and vigour to an initiative that is direct and tangible testimony of the attention with which Italy looks at the enlarged Mediterranean.

It could not be otherwise, because of our history, because of our geographical location and because of the relations that have always bound us to the Countries in this region.

The Mediterranean is first and foremost a space of sharing, a crossroads of cultures, and to quote Fernand Braudel: “not a civilization but civilizations enriching each other”, through the wealth of their diversity and the common destiny that binds them together.

The title of this edition is particularly stimulating: “Weathering the Storm: interdependence, resilience, and cooperation”.

It is a title that recalls the escalation in situations of conflict – of which Europe is no longer free – with the tragic circumstances in which the Russian Federation’s inacceptable aggression against Ukraine has plunged us all.

The return of war in the European continent has exacerbated already existing problems, also in the Mediterranean area, to which new problems have been added: greater poverty, food insecurity, scarceness of energy resources.

These are aspects that will be addressed in the working sessions and that, through their urgency, remind us how compelling it now is to find shared solutions.

The title theme of our meeting not only has the merit of raising the problem but also of laying claim to the solutions that multilateralism offers to “weather the storm” that we are experiencing.

Three are the key words: “resilience, interdependence, and cooperation”.

Today, while respecting our cultural and political differences, the proliferation of crisis scenarios must push us to deepen and extend our cooperation in tackling the challenges facing us, now as in the past.

We are once again at a crossroads.

What enables us to look at the progress of humanity?

War or peace?

We must start from the principles that underly our civil coexistence and that were founded within the framework of the United Nations.

In order to consolidate the multilateral system and make it more democratic, it is necessary to rely on the equality between States, avoiding international polarization and exasperating diversities which of course exist but that effective dialogue can contribute to reduce.

The Conference’s two days of sessions will enable us to exchange ideas from different perspectives on the great themes of peace, development, and security, in a logic aimed at enriching our respective visions and at seeking common solutions.

Our reflections will focus on the themes of justice for all peoples and the centrality of human dignity, two values fiercely undermined by war, the activities of extremist movements, and terrorism.

Our aim is to work together to consolidate institutional and democratic processes, especially where they are more directly threatened, as in Syria and in the Sahel region.

In this respect, allow me to take the opportunity to thank President Ghazouani and President Bazoum for their commitment to this cause and reaffirm that they can count on the Italian Republic to support their actions.

The conflict in Europe has also generated a crisis in food supplies that afflicts the Countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean and that, on the one hand obliges us to urgently find solutions, and on the other hand, pushes us to continue together along the path of promoting sustainable agri-food systems capable of producing wealth for the people by benefiting local supply chains, while contributing to protecting the ecosystems.

It is a global challenge that, in the enlarged Mediterranean area, risks aggravating already existing problems and spreading instability and insecurity.

I am glad that tomorrow’s session of the “Dialogues” will be dedicated to this issue in an inter-ministerial meeting extended to all the Countries of the Mediterranean and to the principal UN agencies to study solutions aimed at mitigating the emergency.  

We need tangible steps forward.

Difficulties drive us to courageously and enterprisingly extend the areas of cooperation, overturning a narrative that too often sees the Mediterranean and Africa as areas of crisis and regions that produce instability.

Quite the opposite: a unitary vision of the whole Euro-Mediterranean-African region reveals how, through close cooperation, this region presently represents a space of yet mostly untapped opportunities and an essential element in the solutions.

I am referring to the potential that exists in terms of material resources, starting from traditional and renewable energy sources, as well as human resources, whose full development should be fostered also through the instruments made available by the European Union’s neighbourhood policy.

The interdependence that exists between the two shores of the Mediterranean increases the urgency of investing in focusing political attention on the southern shore.

The growth of the Countries overlooking the Mediterranean is also based on a common and forward-looking management of migration flows which drain the Countries of origin of the energies needed to develop their communities.

It is a decisive global issue – as the International Organization forMigration is well aware of – that is linked to demographic trends and global interconnections that it is pointless to think will vanish and that we must instead commit to manage as a common interest.

Also in this respect diplomacy, and national and international institutions, first and foremost the European Union, are called upon to make a joint effort with the Countries most exposed to this phenomenon. My mind wanders to the difficult situation that continues to affect Libya.

In this case too, at stake is the life, destiny, and dignity of human beings.

It is a crucial issue for the stability and prosperity of the European Union as well as for the stability and prosperity of our southern neighbours.

It is precisely the dimension and complexity of the challenges facing us that must push us to tackle them together, in a strong spirit of solidarity.

The Mediterranean Dialogues have the merit of reinforcing our mutual awareness and, at the same time, of providing us with an instrument with which to plot a common roadmap. 

While harbouring this hope, allow me to wish you all fruitful and satisfying days.