The Diplomat in Spain

The Diplomat

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and Mobile World Capital Barcelona have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to address digital needs and challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

The agreement was signed last Thursday in Barcelona by the secretary general of the UfM, Nasser Kamel, and the CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Carlos Grau, in the framework of MWC Barcelona 2021, and aims to “consolidate their cooperation through the pursuit of regional and international initiatives to achieve goals in the field of digital transformation, overcome the digital divide and promote digital skills and entrepreneurship,” as reported by the regional association, which brings together the countries of the European Union and 15 countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

The Declaration of the UfM Co-Presidency, issued at the 5th UfM 2020 Regional Forum – held on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Barcelona Process – identified digital transformation as one of the specific priority areas for the UfM’s work in the coming years. “Given its cross-cutting nature, the lessons of the pandemic, and its belonging to the spectrum of priority areas for the region, promoting digitization is a key objective of the UfM’s work”, it continued.

The recently published UfM Study on Regional Integration in the Mediterranean pointed to the need to generate digital connectivity, invest in digital technologies and address the demand for digital skills in the UfM region. In particular, the Study mentioned that, in 2017 only 8% of SMEs in the MENA region had an online presence (compared to 80% in the U.S.), and only 1.5% of retailers in the region were online.

“The partnership with Mobile World Capital Barcelona responds to these recommendations, and establishes an important framework for a formal commitment between the two entities that will fulfill their shared agendas, with the co-organization of concrete events and activities, already planned for the coming months”, concluded the UfM.