ascamemedanewsmediterranean business & economic updates

september-october 2014

The VIII edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders will include this year different forums and events focus on key aspects essential to the sustainable and inclusive development of the Mediterranean region: renewable energies and eco-effi-ciency; green finances and Islamic finances, entrepreneurship and education, free zones or the integration of the Maghreb region. This year, the focus will be made on Green Economyas a main driving force for the economic and social growth of the Mediterranean region.

AGENDA #MedaWeek2014 11th North Africa Business Development Forum (NABDF) 26th Nov

1st Summit of Free and Special Economic Zones 26th Nov

1st Mediterranean Entrepreneurship Forum 26th Nov

6th Mediterranean Tourism Forum (Meditour) 27th Nov

6th Eco Meda Green Summit: Mediterranean Solar Forum;

Mediterranean Forum for Economic Intelligence; MEDACITY;

Global Eco Forum and VI Meditour: special session on Green

Tourism - 27th-28th Nov

2nd Summit of Islamic Finance 28th Nov

www.medaeconomicweek.org

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MediterraneanWeek

of EconomicLeaders

26th-28th November 2014 Barcelona

a need for change

In collaboration with:

Organizers:

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ASCAME, spokesman of the private sector in the MediterraneanAs the world becomes aware of the importance of the “Public-Private” partnership, ASCAME, The Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediter-ranean, reveals itself as a model of its kind, which can heavily contribute to the emergence of the South coun-tries and to the constitution of an Euromed area whose hegemony cannot be challenged in this area of the world.

The organization facing the private sector today is the Union for the Mediterranean, which includes the 43 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean area. We can say that the willingness to cooperate is strong from all sides, but the social platforms and the economic instruments of the region must find their anchors inside the UfM and phase their efforts to strengthen the socio-economic cli-mate of the region; well understood broadly including freedom, democracy, respect for human beings, equality of women, child protection and the fight against insecu-rity and ignorance- in a word all objective development goals that today are grouped within the term “the new measures of economic well-being” which gave birth to inclusive development.

In ASCAME we believe in doing useful work and we are, in a way, walking a historical path. The presence of 20 presidents of Chambers of Commerce on the Commit-tee allows us to feel the pulse of the economy at the spot while others must wait for a long time to obtain statistical results. Through the network of national chambers, we can take action and make public- private partnership a reality.

Every year the Mediterranean Week of Economic Lead-ers extend the consultation of all entrepreneurs who wish to speak in the presence of the representatives of the European Union and the Union for the Mediterrane-an, among others.

MEDITOUR brings together leading tour operators in the Mediterranean basin, becoming a unique opportunity to create synergies and to develop the tourism activity be-yond the borders of the region.

The logic of ASCAME is the logic of action. Thirty years ago it was a pious hope, only the more developed Cham-bers of Commerce of the Mediterranean wished to coop-erate in order to exchange information and good prac-tices. Today history has joined them, and ASCAME has a socio-economic mission anchored in the UfM in all its aspects.

“The Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders extend the consultation of all entrepreneurs who wish to speak in the presence of the representatives of the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean”.

“MEDITOUR brings together leading tour operators in the Mediterranean basin, becoming a unique opportunity to create synergies and to develop the tourism”.

Mohamed ChoucairPresident of Ascame The Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry

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26th-28th of November 2014 - Casa Llotja del Mar - Barcelona

Over the last 7 editions, more than 10.000 business men and women, governmental entities of the Mediterranean region and representatives of international and regional institutions have met to discuss and promote the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and integration as a core factor for the economic and social development of the region. The 8th edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders, will play a vital role in line with the latest regional developments, offering again a unique platform for thought exchanges of experiences.

Organized by ASCAME and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation, with the collaboration of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and other institutions involved in the Mediterranean project, the 8th edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic

Leaders entitled “A need for change” will focus this year on the green economy as a main driving force of the development of our region.

In the framework of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders will also take place the 6th Tourism Mediterranean Forum (MEDITOUR 2014) which will spotlight Lebanon as a tourist destination and as a major cultural and historic center in the Mediterranean; but also as a promoter of the green tourism which is now a reality.

Participating in the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders represents a unique occasion to establish a list of contacts with businessmen and businesswomen as well as representatives of international organizations and multilateral agencies.

XXIII General Assembly of ASCAME on the 26th of November

In the framework of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders AS-CAME will organize its XXIII General Assembly, which will define the ge-neral policies and major lines of action of the Association.

ASCAME was founded on October 1982, as an initiative of the Barce-lona Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with its counterparts from different Mediterranean countries; the association is nowadays the main representative of the private sector in the Mediterranean. With a mem-bership of more than 250 Chambers of Commerce and other associated bodies from 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, ASCAME works with the most important organizations and international institu-tions, promoting the social and economic development of the Medite-rranean region, among others, the European Union (EU), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank, while ASCAME is also present in multiple high level Euromediterranean workgroups.

See more at: www.ascame.org

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Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders

Anwar Zibaoui, Coordinator of ASCAME; Miquel Valls, President of

the Barcelona CCI and Mohamed Choucair, President of ASCAME

Former Prince of the Kingdom of Spain, present King,

during the General Assembly of ASCAME in 2008

ascameforums

Summit of Free and Special Economic Zones 26th November Barcelona

ASCAME and FEMOZA want to establish an action plan to increase the absorption of foreign investment and provide a safe and comfortable scenario for future projects.

Mediterranean Entrepreneurship Forum 26th November Barcelona

Ascame, UfM and Unimed work together in order to encourage and support entrepreneurship in the Mediter-ranean, generally recognized as a vital element in economic development and an engine for private sector growth and diversity.

Summit of Islamic Finance 28th November Barcelona

ASCAME and the CEIEFI will play a major role in the Mediterranean capital, bringing together the main fi-nancial and banking firms, insurance companies and mediators, friendly societies, brokers and investors.

The participants can now register directly on the web page www.medaeconomicweek.org/register

You can also follow us on twitter using the hashtag #MedaWeek2014

Eco Meda Green Summit

1st Mediterranean Solar Forum 27th November Barcelona

The Mediterranean Solar Day will bring together governments, international organizations, project promoters and private investors, in order to reflect upon and discuss the challenges and opportunities that solar energy represents for the Mediterranean.

6th MEDACITY: special edition on Green Cities 27th November Barcelona

MEDACITY Forum, in the framework of the ECO MEDA GREEN SUMMIT, will explore the integration of tech-nologies for renewable energy generation into Mediterranean urban environments.

6th Mediterranean Tourism Forum: special edition on Green Tourism 27th November Barcelona

The creation of greener tourism is happening across the whole breadth of the industry, in travel management companies, airlines, tour operators, and marketing departments.

1st Mediterranean Forum for Economic Intelligence 28th November Barcelona

The sectors of the environmental management and energy, due to their nature to strategic regional and global scale, are two hotbeds deserving of special attention on the part of the set of economic actors.

7th Global Eco Forum 28th November Barcelona

ASCAME and Eco Union promote dialogue, innovation and collaboration towards the sustainability of the Mediterranean region. This year edition focuses on emerging global issues related to sustainable develop-ment such as green economy, green finance and resources management.

Mediterranean Tourism Forum (Meditour) 27th November Barcelona

ASCAME and the CCI of Beirut will organize this year the VI MEDITOUR which will focus on Lebanon as a main tourist destination and cultural center in the region. MEDITOUR enables the Mediterranean Tourism professionals to find constructive solutions for the sustainable growth of this industry in the region.

North Africa Business Development Forum (NABDF) 26th November Barcelona ASCAME and IEMed aim at creating a sustainable development model for the region based on a transparent and efficient administration. This year the focus will be made on the 25th anniversary of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

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Smart Sustainable Innovation Event

Firemed gathered more than 130 people between SMEs, investors, policy makers, banks and invest-ment funds at the event “Smart Sustainable Innovation” #innovationBCN2014 about financial tools in the renewable energy sector.

The FIREMED Project, which is co-financed by the Euro-pean Regional development Forum (ERDF), on the 19th of June, focused its event on promoting the financial instru-ments that support SMEs in the sector of green energy in the Mediterranean.

The event was framed in the development of the FIREMED project, co-financed from the European Union inside the MED program, and addressed to the consortium of various Euro-Mediterranean organizations from 7 countries: Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, and Croatia.

The Smart Sustainable Innovation event welcomed the SMEs, investors, policy-makers, banks, investment funds, which analysed the present sector of renewable energy and presented conclusions for boosting possible business opportunities in the Mediterranean.

The act was inaugurated by Anwar Zibaoui, the Coordinator of ASCAME; Claudi Alsina, Generalitat de Catalunya; Joan Parra, General Director of Leitat and KIM who co-organized the event.

Total project budget 1,919,157.98 € - Period 2013-2015

For more information www.firemed-project.eu

OPTIMED project’s launching conference

Optimed celebrated the project’s launching conference on the 20th of June in Cagliari.

The project aims at improving shipping trade-in timing and freight costs - within the Mediterranean basin, thus in-creasing the circulation of goods along the northwestern-southeastern axis of the Mediterranean area.

The ultimate part of the workshop was dedicated to the round table with all the project partners: Sardinia Region’s Government and University of Cagliari from Italy; ASCAME-Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commer-ce-and the European School of Short Sea Shipping from Spain; the Chamber of Commerce of Beirut and Mount Le-banon and the Lebanese Ministry for Transport and Public Works from Lebanon.

In order to promote the economic cooperation between the countries of Latin arc of north-western Mediterranean basin (Spain, France and Italy) and the countries of the Southern shore (mainly Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan), Beirut (Lebanon) and Porto Torres (Italy) ports will be converted into hubs. The project is funded under ENPI CBC MED, the financial instru-ment supporting the European Neighborhood Policy (ENPI) in the Mediterranean basin.

Total project budget 1,999,481.22 € - Period 2014-2015

For more information secretariat.projects@ascame.org

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FOSTEr in MED project A survey to enquire about citizens perception and knowledge on solar technologies in Mediterranean countries

On the 25th of June 2014, the project began a survey to analyse the perception of citizens towards PV techno-logies in the main cities involved in the project: Cagliari (Sardinia); Barcelona (Spain); Beirut (Lebanon); Alexandria (Egypt); Aqaba (Jordan); Tunis (Tunisia).

Many factors limit the diffusion of PV technologies among citizens, such as the lack of knowledge of their benefits or their implementation procedures. The coordinator of the ac-tivity, Professor Elisabetta Strazzera (University of Cagliari) comments: “The social acceptability of technologies is an issue that should not be neglected in programs aimed at spreading environment friendly innovations, both at small

and at large scale level. For the ongoing survey, we are using advanced tools from the social and economic disci-plines to understand pros and cons that people associate with the development of residential PV technologies in the Mediterranean countries, so that indications can be provi-ded to enhance drivers and smooth out barriers”. Project finance by EU through the ENPI CBCMED. Period 2012-2015.

Total project budget 4.500.000 € For more information, www.fosterinmed.eu

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ASCAME and the EIB enhance the support provided to SMEOn the 11th of June, Mr. Mohamed Choucair received Mr. Philipe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-president of the EIB, in the premises of the Chamber of Commerce, Indus-try and Agriculture of Beirut & Mount Lebanon in the framework of a visit in Lebanon.

The President of ASCAME, Mr. Mohamed Choucair, has extended to the Vice-president of the EIB his warmest thanks for the work done in Lebanon and in all the South-Mediterranean countries, through the actions implemented in favor of the region in which the EIB and ASCAME are involved.

Mr. Choucair has emphasized the importance of the agreement signed between both institutions and has expressed his will to strengthen and announce new initiatives for the Mediterranean economy and espe-cially for the SME.

Mohamed Choucair has also demonstrated his com-mitment towards the EIB and, especially regarding the programmes in favor of the improvement of the South and the constitution of a Euro-Mediterranean econo-mic zone.

The meeting also relied on the presence of the Advi-sor of the Vice-President De Fontaine Vive, Ms. Emi-lie Bois-Willaert, the responsible for activities in the MENA region for corporate and social responsibility, Mrs. Flavia Palanza and the Director for Operations in the Mediterranean Region Virginia Garcia Loan Office Responsible for operations in Lebanon.

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Mohamed Choucair, President of ASCAME and Philippe de Fontaine Vive,

Vice-president of the EIB

New websitePlease visit the new website of the VIII edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders and regis-ter to the several forums organized in the framework of the event in order to be kept updated with the lat-est news and agendas.

Be part of the #Medaweek2014 by becoming a Spon-sor or Media Partner.

You can also follow the event on twitter using the hashtag #Medaweek2014

For more information www.medaeconomicweek.org

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ascameagreements

ASCAME signs collaboration agreement with the network of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the MediterraneanThrough this agreement, ASCAME is committed to strengthe-ning its social role in the Mediterranean region and shows its support for all associations of the Red Cross and Red Cres-cent from the Mediterranean shore.

The collaboration agreement was signed on June 3 in Barce-lona between the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean (ASCAME) and the Red Cross and Red Crescent from the Mediterranean, represented by the “Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation” which has the objective to host the Permanent Bureau of the Mediterranean Conference of the organization encouraging meetings and exchange of experience to the achievement of the Internatio-nal Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The agreement proves the commitment of both entities for peace, human rights, solidarity, justice, freedom and eco-nomic equality, social and cultural life in the countries of the Mediterranean region.

Under the agreement, ASCAME and the Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation undertake to cooperate with the implementation of measures and joint projects in the interest of serving the common good and progress of the Me-diterranean basin.

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ASCAME will sign a MoU with the Secretariat of Union for the MediterraneanASCAME and the Secretariat of the Union for the Medite-rranean (UFMS) will sign a new strategic agreement in or-der to enhance the collaboration between both institutions during the official inauguration of the 8th Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders on November 26th in Barcelo-na.

This agreement aims to promote business participation and private sector involvement within UFMS and ASCAME activities in the Mediterranean region. It will be signed by the President of ASCAME, Mr. Mohamed Choucair and the General Secretary of the UfM, Mr. Fathallah Sijilmassi.

This agreement builds on the previous MoU signed by the organization shortly after the creation of the UfM in 2008 and is a testament to the will of both international organi-zations for the promotion of Mediterranean interests.

Marta Corachán, Vice-president of the Center for Mediterranean

Cooperation and Mohamed Choucair, President of ASCAME

Fathallah Sijilmassi, Secretary General of the UfM and Mohamed

Choucair, President of ASCAME

ascameagenda

septemberVI Edition Beirut Energy Forum-ShaamsDate 17th - 19th September

Location Lebanon - Beirut

Subjet The event will focus on solutions based on solar energy

Registration http://www.beirutenergyforum.com/

octoberEUROMED Business Meetings on Technologies and Innovation in the Fresh and Processed Fruits and Vegetables, Vine & Wine, Cereals SectorV TECHAGRIFOODDate 29th - 30th October

Location Parma - Italy

Subjet Processed Fruits and Vegetables, Vine & Wine, Cereals Sector

Registration http://www.b2match.eu/techagrifood2014

novemberVIII Mediterranean Economic WeekDate 5th - 8th November

Location Marseille - France

Subjet Tourism, economic development vector in the Mediterranean

Information www.semaine-eco-med.com

ASCAME (Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry)

The network of ASCAME, which is the main representative of the private sector in the Mediterranean, is currently represented in the consortia of over 22 projects in the Mediterranean. The Association ASCAME gathers more than 250 Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as other entities from 23 countries of the Mediterranean Basin and represents millions of enterprises.For more information www.ascame.org

Edited by ASCAME

ASCAME EVENT- VI MEDITERRANEAN Women Entrepreneurs Forum - Strengthening Women through the promotion of business in the MediterraneanDate 13th - 14th November

Location Thessaloniki - Greece

Subjet Women entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean

Information www.afaemme.org

TOP FRANCHISEDate 17th - 18th November

Location Marseille - France

Subjet Franchise

Information www.ccimp.com

ASCAME EVENT - VIII Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders Date 26th - 28th November

Location Barcelona - Spain

Subjet Investment and business development in the Mediterranean

Information www.ascame.org

Registration www.medaeconomicweek.org

Social Media @ascameorg / follow the #Medaweek2014

ASCAME EVENT- VI Edition Meditour Date 27th November

Location Barcelona - Spain

Subjet Green Tourism - Tourism in Lebanon - Tourism in the Mediterranean

Registration www.medaeconomicweek.org

Social Media @ascameorg / follow the #Meditour2014

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