The 5+5 Initiative Defence Ministers met at Carlos V Palace in Granada, where they signed a joint declaration to further develop multilateral cooperation and convert the Western Mediterranean into a privileged forum of confidence and security.
The meeting, chaired by Spanish Defence Minister Pedro Morenés, was also attended by his counterparts from France, Italy, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia. The Defence Ministers of Algeria and Malta were represented by delegations from their countries.
During the work sessions, the ministers expressed satisfaction with the level of collaboration achieved and the progress made. Particular mention was made of the Virtual Centre for Maritime Traffic, the 5+5 School of Defence, the Euro-Maghreb Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, and the naval coordination mechanism for developing maritime surveillance activities.
Furthermore, the defence ministers highlighted the opportunity offered by the 5+5 Initiative for further developing cooperation in terms of cyber-defence, maintaining progress on security in the Western Mediterranean and tackling illegal immigration, organised crime and terrorism.
By signing this joint declaration, the ministers approved the 2015 Action Plan and agreed to implement a coordination mechanism for issuing instructions to tackle the management of natural disasters and emergencies, as well as during any healthcare activities carried out with affected populations, and the development of an operational Coordination and Planning Centre for support from the armed forces on civil protection.
With this meeting, Spain concludes its presidency of the initiative for 2014, which it held for the first time and which coincided with the 10th anniversary of its creation, passing the baton over to Tunisia for next year.
5+5 Defence Initiative
The '5+5 Defence Initiative' was set up in 2004 after a Declaration of Intent was signed by the Defence Ministers of Algeria, Spain, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Mauritania, Portugal and Tunisia to foster mutual knowledge about Member States, strengthen understanding and confidence between them, and develop multilateral cooperation with a view to promoting security in the Western Mediterranean.
Since then, the Member States hold the presidency of the initiative on a rotating basis for a period of one year, during which time that country is responsible for organising the forums for developing the proposals made in the annual Action Plan and the ministerial meeting while defining the strategic directives for forthcoming activities. In 2014, this responsibility fell on Spain.
Practical activities of common interest are carried out under the annual Action Plan and focus on three areas: maritime security, aviation security and participation by armed forces in support of civil protection. Furthermore, training plays a highly important role in these areas.
EFE