Rome – The foreign ministers of the Group 5+5 welcomed, on Monday in Rome, the “democratic changes” taking place in some countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean, and called on the international community “to provide the necessary support for the success of this process.”
In a declaration adopted at the end of their ninth meeting, the ministers voiced deep conviction that the “historic changes” under way since the beginning of 2011 in some countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean, as well as the democratic reforms undertaken in others, will enable to “consolidate the 5+5 dialogue and develop cooperation activities between the group members”.
“These democratic changes in the region will need the support of the entire international community in order to enable transition governments or those stemming from the polls to ensure the success of the democratic process,” the document says.
The foreign ministers of the ten member states of this group, henceforth called “Group 10”, stressed in this respect “the need for the international community in general and the EU in particular to provide the necessary support for the success of this process.”
Moreover, they agreed to “pursue and step up economic and financial cooperation in the region to ensure conditions for the success of the democratic process in member countries in the south of the Mediterranean.
The Group 5 +5 includes Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia and Libya from the southern shore of the Mediterranean, and Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Portugal, from the northern shore.
