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Western Mediterranean Dialogue ends with "Malta Declaration"

06 October 2012 22:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The second Western Mediterranean Dialogue, commonly known as the "5+5 Dialogue," ended Saturday with the approval of a final declaration named the "Malta Declaration," APA reports quoting Xinhua

At the concluding press conference, the leaders of Malta, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia highly praised the outcome of the summit and expressed their aspiration to enhance the regional cooperation in supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), combating irregular migration and strengthening the fight against smuggling.

Malta’s Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said the summit promoted dialogue between Western Mediterranean countries for exchange of ideas on issues of security, migration and economic development.

The Milan Chamber of Commerce, according to the declaration, will set up a regional network of centers to provide service to SMEs.

"In the discussion, we underlined the importance of supporting particularly the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises as a fatal sector in job creating," Gonzi said.

On the issue of irregular migration, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said he had suggested the creation of a task force focusing on rescuing migrants. The task force, he said, should be composed of military and civilian assets.

"It is very difficult to accomplish (preventing irregular migration) with only one solution. It needs a package of solutions based on solidarity between all the members both from the North and the South," Gonzi said.

Moreover, the declaration condemned the violence in Syria and called for its immediate end.

The second Western Mediterranean Dialogue opened here on Friday. The first such summit was held in Tunis in December 2003.