The Fourth and Final Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean (CSCM) is being held by the Inter--PParliamentary Union (IPU) and the Greek Parliament from 6 to 7 February 2005 in Nafplion, home of the first parliament of modern Greece.

The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, 6 February, in the presence of the President of the Parliament of Greece, Mrs. Anna Benaki-Psaroudai, and the IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson.

While the countries of the Mediterranean region share a rich cultural and religious heritage and its people have interacted in every area of human endeavour, it is also a region that remains fraught with tension of every kind.

The IPU firmly believes that peace and prosperity can be achieved by promoting cooperation through political dialogue. To this end, fifteen years ago, it set up a special mechanism for promoting security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region. Over the years, the parliaments of this region have come together at regular meetings organised by the IPU, under the aegis of what has become known as the CSCM process. This Fourth and final CSCM Conference will convert this process into a unique Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.

Parliaments of all Mediterranean coastal States are members of the CSCM : Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia and Turkey, as are three non-coastal States which are directly linked to the Mediterranean in economic, political and strategic terms, namely, Jordan, Portugal and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

---

Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 140 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
Other press releases	More information

---

Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Tel. +41 22 919 41 16/27 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org