The support to the Union for the Mediterranen (UfM) will enable and strengthen the UfM regional dialogue towards and within the member states of the union's Southern area (MENA-countries), targeting three prioritesed themes of (1) women's economic empowerment (gender equality); (2) water, environment and blue economy; and (3) energy and climate change. The project document states "The overall objective of the proposed agreement is to define a structured cooperation between Sida and the UfMS through a multi -year support framework targeted to UfMs core activities with a focus on MENA countries, allowing their deepening and amplification.
This is a process oriented programme with medium term goals in each of the three specific sectors of intervention, with annually defined monitoring indicators. The Union for the Mediterranean is a unique framework for cooperation and dialogue in the Mediterranean region with a clear mandate to foster regional cooperation and integration with a view to improve stability and social well - being. Political recognition and impulse through an increasing number UfM Ministerial Meetings have provided guidance in a number of areas. Within this context, the UfM Secretariat has increasingly been attributed the role of animating various regional dialogue platforms and/or expert groupsbringing together national counterparts but also donors, international financial institutions, experts, civil society, private sector, think tanks and academics.
An additional role in monitoring progress in implementing regional agendas has emerged alongside it,promoting concrete cooperation on the ground.Within this framework, the Secretariat acts as a facilitator to animate policy dialogues,exchange of experience, definition of priorities at regional level in sectors of its mandate,through building on national commitment of countries involved and gathering relevant stakeholders and actors that can promote changes on the ground.
The intervention logic of the proposed programme is therefore structured around three axes coherent with the UfMS' core activities, which are key to the success of activities:a) Regional policy dialogues to consolidate (emerging) processes in the 3 selected sectors, ensure their sustainability, and enlarge the multi-partners approach;b) Promotion of regional gortfolio, activities of dialogue and coordination that may belinked to existing initiatives and programmes or may allow defining new concrete priorities.c) Technical support, coordination and monitoring of activities so as to plan, execute,coordinate, ensure follow- up and report on agreed activities to successfully implementand oversee the present agreement and its activities.2 More specifically, this implies the countries of Sida's MENA strategy that are also UfM Member countries. Expertise and technical assistance that could be mobilised are detailed in each of thethree proposed axes.
