Forum Policy Planners

Policy Planners’ Mediterranean Strategy Retreat – Building Geostrategic Consensus across Latitudes

Organized in cooperation with The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)

The Forum consists in closed-door sessions, under Chatham House rule, by invitation only

As fundamental disagreements over the future of global order split the UN security council, other formal and informal fora gain in importance to strike alliances in pursuit of shared goals. The wider Mediterranean basin lies at the center of a number of geopolitical core dossiers, including energy security, maritime security, nuclear proliferation or climate action. Mediterranean powers are key partners for the G7 to both safeguard and advance regional and global governance on these and other key dossiers, including the Ukraine war and the larger geopolitical reshuffle it has triggered. How much do Northern and Southern Mediterranean states align on some of those key dossiers? What are Mediterranean partners’ core priorities when looking for partnerships? What advantages offer alignments with Russian and Chinese positions? Which key interests are being pursued by divergent alignments that are being neglected by Western partners? What are the pros and cons of North-South alignment?

The Policy Planners’ Forum seeks to generate a fluid and continuous face-to-face debate among all relevant policy planning departments on key MENA strategy issue, alternating the most controversial and pressing issues of current affairs with more mid-and long-term strategic thinking on the future of cooperation in the region.