Matera becomes the ‘Agora of the Mediterranean’: two days of discussions on the economy, geopolitics and climate

The Mediterranean is finally at the heart of the European agenda, and Matera is hosting a two-day discussion on the transformations that are reshaping the balance of power in the region linking Asia and Africa to the Old Continent. On 30 November and 1 December, at Casa Cava, the event NextMed | Agorà Mediterranea will take place, an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Matera and the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, in collaboration with Il Sole 24 Ore – 24 Ore NextMed, the platform of Il Sole 24 Ore dedicated to the wider Mediterranean.

The event takes place in the year in which Matera shares the title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue with the Moroccan city of Tetouan. Energy security, infrastructure, geopolitical competition and the climate crisis are issues that profoundly affect the Mediterranean Basin, which is undergoing changes that directly impact the economic and strategic interests of Italia and Europe.

The programme will bring together institutions, businesses, financial operators and representatives of the business community from both sides of the Mediterranean. Key topics on the agenda include the security of energy supplies, the control and development of trade routes, the strategic importance of straits and maritime links, industrial policies in the automotive and defence sectors, as well as the role of finance and investment and the prospects for the use of the euro in the region. A significant part of the discussions will also be devoted to water resource management, food security, territorial sustainability and migration flows. Within this framework, the prospects for cooperation linked to the Mattei Plan and the Pact for the Mediterranean will also be addressed, with particular attention to training, the transfer of skills and opportunities for shared development.

Among the announced guests is Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean. Also taking part will be Giulio Centemero, Member of Parliament and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and the Gulf; Patrizia Dalmasso, President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Nice Sophia Antipolis, Côte d’Azur; Simone Santi, President of the Africa and Gulf Division of the Italian Chambers of Commerce Abroad; and Fakih Lanjri Nassar, First Vice-President of the Municipality of Tetouan.

Also expected to attend from Italia are Pasquale Salzano, Italian Ambassador to Morocco, the Mayor of Matera, Antonio Nicoletti, and Michele Somma, President of the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation and of the Basilicata Chamber of Commerce. On the industrial and infrastructure front, speakers will include Francesco D’Alema, president of Confindustria Basilicata, Paolo Guidi, president of Assologistica, Matteo Paroli, president of the Port System Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea, and Paolo Piacenza, president of the Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas.