Reinforced dialogue and co-operation in the Mediterranean region in focus of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation’s meeting in Vienna

VIENNA, 5 October 2016 – Promoting security through mutual confidence and co-operation with Mediterranean Partners, including joint work on political-military issues was high on the agenda of yesterday’s meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security and Co-operation (FSC).

The debate centered on defence co-operation according to OSCE principles within the 5+5 Defence Initiative, which brings together five countries from the northern Mediterranean shore (Italy, France, Malta, Portugal and Spain) and five from the southern basin (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia). The sub-regional forum is aimed at establishing mutual trust among its participants.

Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Ali Mokrani, Algeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for the European Union and Specialized European Institutions, noted that there are various dialogue and cooperation initiatives such as 5+5 and the OSCE-Mediterranean Partnership for Co-operation. Mokrani said that all these initiatives have one common denominator: “dialogue and promotion of trust in the interests of security, stability and development in the region.”

General Francesco Vestito, Chief of the Experimentation Office at the Centre for Defence and Innovation of Italy’s Defence Ministry, said that in the Mediterranean, his country is committed to improve common defence and positive integration processes in the political dimension, in coordination with the European Union and NATO. He emphasized that in this respect, Italy believes that the OSCE “can and should make a significant contribution in the Mediterranean and its role is crucial for the future of the region and of Europe itself.”

Professor Nuno Severiano Teixeira, Director of the Portuguese Institute of International Relations, stressed that currently, both European and North African countries are seeking solutions to major challenges facing the region, including human trafficking in the Mediterranean, deaths resulting from irregular migration and violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism. “The 5+5 Defence Initiative is not competing with other regional dialogues but is an instrument than can enhance and facilitate mutual co-operation in cases of major security challenges and threats in the region,” he added.