The Mediterranean at the center of the G7 and the international agenda in 2017
Italian President Mattarella, Foreign Minister Gentiloni, and US Secretary Kerry at #MED2016.
[Disponibile anche in italiano]
The second edition of the MED Dialogues in Rome focused on the “the centrality of the Mediterranean, whose relevance goes beyond its borders,” as Italian President Sergio Mattarella highlighted in his address.
The attention we give to this area shows that it is not undergoing an irreversible crisis and that the Mediterranean Sea and the region are truly part of our common heritage. We need to share the opportunities the area offers, and together tackle its problems.
Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni pointed out that “the Mediterranean with its very long history is where the future of our society lies.
This is true not only for us in Italy but for everyone in Europe. It is also fundamental for Africa and for everyone. This region, that has given birth to cultures, civilizations, religions, […] is facing a terrible crisis.
The event was attended by high-level delegations, including US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Kerry also stressed the centrality of the Mediterranean and how its stability is ket for the future of the international community. He said: “In ancient times, the Mediterranean was considered to be the very center of the world. It remains today a body of water still that brings us together, that connects us, and that presents us, as your program suggests, with a land of instability and a sea of opportunities.”
Now, none of us should have any illusion about the challenges that we face. They are real, and frankly, they require our collective courage. They require our collective commitment, and they require, above all, action. And, I might add, they require all of those things based on truth. There are some truths, folks.
And he added:
I just want to assure you this afternoon that I emphatically believe that the road ahead is not going to be defined solely by turmoil and strife, and I know it doesn’t have to be. Despite what some pundits write in the daily headlines that cause people a lot of fear, the world today is not falling apart. On the contrary, I think it is in many respects coming together. But it’s coming together with this clash of modernity and culture and religion and the fear of the dislocation that comes with it.
Excerpts from the Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s address to the MED Dialogues in Rome on December 1, 2016.
The second edition of the MED Dialogues shows […] the centrality of the Mediterranean, whose relevance goes beyond its borders.
The attention we give to this area shows that it is not undergoing an irreversible crisis and that the Mediterranean Sea and the region are truly part of our common heritage. We need to share the opportunities the area offers, and together tackle its problems.
The Mediterranean represents an extraordinary melting pot of cultures, natural resources, scientific experiences, and knowledge that are at the origin of our civilization.
[…]
Our countries share the strength and the will to bring the region back to its nature at the crossroads of different and complementary cultures, as a unifying element between our civilizations in terms of experiences, knowledge, trade, and growth.
[…]
This is the Mediterranean we know and call as ours.
This is where, more than anywhere else, we need to commit to overcome the rhetoric of divisions and polarizations that is afflicting our society.
It means to valorize the potential of globalization, embedded in the common roots of the Mediterranean region that have carried us forward for millennia. […] To build a common agenda — with the common goals we share — we need to focus back again on our citizens, their cultural, educational, and social needs.
[…]
Italy — geographically placed at the center of the Mediterranean — feels it has a special responsibility, knowing that our stability and wellbeing are key for those of our neighbors. This is why we’ve been playing an active role in the region and have called upon the international community for an increased commitment to its future.
Our country has always affirmed the centrality of the Mediterranean, in particular at the European Union level. We believe this is the way forward and we’re determined to continue in this priority in 2017, when Italy will be part of the United Nations Security Council and will chair the G7 and the OSCE Mediterranean Group.
These are important occasions for us to intensify our commitment in tackling those challenges and finding common solutions.
For this, the help and support of the international community is key — in collaboration with the United Nations and all our neighbors. This collaboration is needed to contrast the killing of thousands of human lives in the Mediterranean region and the intensifying of the migrant crisis.
[…]
This is Italy’s vision and what will inspire our membership in the UN Security Council and our presidency of the G& in 2017.
Those are challenges that we need to confront. They’re complex and difficult, and the solutions will not be easy to find or immediate. But those are challenges that we can win if we are united and work together, in the conviction that the Mediterranean does not separate us. It unites us.
For more on Taormina and our dispatches about the Italian presidency of the G7 in 2017, follow our G7inUS publication here on Medium and Medium Italiano, or follow us on Twitter. For the official channel of the G7 presidency in 2017, follow @G7Italy2017 on Twitter and use hashtag #G7Italy2017.
