A new project launched this week by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) aims to boost development in the Southern Mediterranean countries by facilitating transport and strengthening trade flows in the region. The LOGISMED Training Activities (LOGISMED-TA) project will reinforce the Mediterranean logistics sector, leading to the creation of five new logistics platforms in the region.
The Ministers of Transport of Morocco and Tunisia, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle, and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Philippe de Fontaine Vive, all took part in the launching conference of the project in Barcelona on Monday, expressing their full support and commitment to the project.
UfM Secretary General Fathallah Sijilmassi said the project would initially be launched in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, while a representative from the Algerian Ministry announced during the conference that Algeria would also join the project. During the period 2013-2018, LOGISMED-TA will be implemented in ten Mediterranean countries and will lead to the creation of five new logistics platforms.
The project will enhance the competitiveness of logistics in the region, complementing existing trainings programmes, and supporting Mediterranean partners in their efforts to improve the qualifications of personnel in the sector.
The UfM Secretary General described the logistics sector as a vector for development, adding: “LOGISMED-TA will contribute to reinforcing transport and stimulating trade flows in the region.” Commissioner Füle said a skilled labour force was vital to achieve this objective.
Tunisia’s Transport Minister Abdelkarim Harouni said his country valued this project, “because Mediterranean cooperation will not advance without paying attention to transport, and transport cannot improve without logistics; and in this field, we have a plan to develop the logistics, basically through relying on the human factor and modernizing the infrastructure.”
LOGISMED-TA is a UfM project promoted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and funded by the European Commission (€3 million) and the Deauville Partnership Transition Fund (€3.4 million).
The need for competitiveness in the logistics transport sector in the Mediterranean has been demonstrated by several studies: the insufficient number of logistics operators and the lack of qualified staff in the sector are major weaknesses that affect trade in the region.
