Mediterranean forum meetings to be held in Malta

The French Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the sixth ministerial council of the Mediterranean Forum will be held in Malta on March 4 and 5. Spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry, Anne Gazeau-Secret, said the meetings of the forum are informal, so the timetable will be open and there is great freedom in debating issues.

The spokeswoman added that the Mediterranean forum was convened at a joint Egyptian-French initiative in 1994 for the first time and is including some 11 countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Italy, France, Portugal and Spain.

The French spokeswoman said the Mediterranean forum integrates with Barcelona process, but Barcelona is larger than that the forum. She indicated that Barcelona includes some 27 countries, adding that during the meetings of the forum preparations will be made for the Euro-Mediterranean conference (Barcelona 3) due to be held in Stuttgart, Germany in April.