Foreign Minister to participate in "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" founding summit in Paris

On 13 to 14 July, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins, at the invitation of Bernard Kouchner, the French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, will visit Paris in order to take part in the first "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" summit, as well as attending the Bastille Day celebrations and a working dinner hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.  

The agenda of the summit's meeting of foreign ministers will include work on the draft declaration of Paris and debates on other issues topical to the Mediterranean region, for example, the preparation of trans-national projects for further integration and development of the region.   

It is planned that the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" will become a new, more involved stage in the co-operation between the EU and the states of the Mediterranean region, which will be established on the basis of various regional and trans-national projects with voluntary state participation.   

The Barcelona Process was initiated in 1995 with the signing of the Barcelona Declaration, and it focuses on three key fields of co-operation: political dialogue, economic co-operation, and the creation of a free trade area around the Mediterranean Sea, as well as cross-cultural dialogue and work on social and humanitarian issues. At present, the Barcelona Process unites 39 member states, including 27 EU member states and 12 southern neighbours of the EU, as well as four Balkan states (Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Monaco) with observer status.    

Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins will participate in the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" summit as part of the official delegation of President Valdis Zatlers.

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