Maltese Parliamentary Delegation Engages in Key Debates at 19th PAM Plenary Session in Rome

The 19th Plenary Session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), convened by Enaam Mayara, President of PAM, is being held on 20–21 February 2025 in Rome. The annual plenary is being hosted by the Speakers of the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies. The Maltese Parliamentary delegation who participated in the plenary consists of Katya De Giovanni (Head of delegation), Ray Abela, Glenn Bedingfield, Janice Chetcuti and Graziella Galea.

The plenary is structured around the work of three standing committees which present their reports. On 20 February the work of the standing committee on Dialogue among Civilizations and Human Rights and the work of the standing Committee on Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation were presented and debated. The debate on reports was followed by the vote and adoption on related resolutions.

In a brief intervention following to the presentation of a report on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, essential for the full enjoyment of life and the exercise of all human rights, in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Regions, De Giovanni made a brief intervention explaining the reality of natural water scarcity in Malta. De Giovanni pointed out how Malta has tackled this issue with investment in desalination plants and how investment in new technology improved the efficiency in energy consumption to run such desalination plants. De Giovanni emphasised that the right to clean water is a human right and should not be considered as a privilege and therefore it is the duty of parliamentarians to make sure that water distributed in clean and safe water to our citizens.

In a brief intervention following to the presentation of a report by Katya De Giovanni on the challenges and opportunities for Economic growth in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Regions, Ray Abela outlined clearly what opportunities there are in the Mediterranean region that can foster economic growth. Abela listed the areas of renewable energy, digital transformation, tourism, logistics and trade and diversification and investment in new technology. Abela acknowledged that apart from the opportunities and in order to take maximum benefit of the opportunities, the challenges need to be tackled. Abela outlined the geo-political instability, climate change, youth unemployment economic inequality, excessive bureaucracy and water scarcity. Abela concluded that collaboration between Mediterranean states is essential and investment in better education is key to unlock the immense potential of the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions, creating a future of shared prosperity and stability.

On 21 February the standing Committee on Political and Security related cooperation presented its work and two reports followed by the adoption of two resolution. During the final session of the plenary the new Bureau has been announced with the election of a new President of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean Giulio Centemero (Italy), for the next two years.