The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) co-organized this year’s Assilah International Forum in Morocco, an annual gathering devoted to formulating optimal responses to key political and economic challenges in the wider Mediterranean area.
This year’s Assilah Forum gathered esteemed political figures, ministers from the region’s states, and business leaders from all over the Mediterranean. The main topic of the forum held on July 24-25 revolved around the impact of “New Cold War” on Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
The forum was opened with remarks by Assilah’s Mayor , Morocco's longtime foreign minister, and distinguished CIRSD Board member Mohamed Benaïssa, and CIRSD President Vuk Jeremić.
In his opening statement, Jeremić expressed concern over the possibility that accrued tensions between main global actors may result in endangering some of the key international negotiation processes led by the UN—the adoption of the SDGs and a comprehensive binding agreement on climate change being the most prominent ones. Jeremic commended the reaching of the comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran and expressed hope that the deal will contribute to reducing the tensions and arms race in the Middle East.
Among other prominent participants, the event in Assilah featured CIRSD Board members Shaukat Aziz, Miguel Angel Moratinos, Markos Kyprianou, Luís Amado, and Cheikh Tidiane Gadio.
CIRSD President was accompanied by CIRSD Senior Fellow Damjan Krnjević Mišković and Program Director Nikola Jovanović.
