Energy Minister Geroge Papanastasiou on Tuesday praised the “common political will” of his eight counterparts from the European Union’s other ‘Med9’ states to “promote a coherent green development strategy”.

Such a strategy, he said, will be developed “with joint actions, unified planning, and integrated procedures”.

He made the statements during the summit of the Med9 states’ energy ministers in the town of Portoroz, on Slovenia’s Adriatic coast, and said that during that summit, “ministers exchanged views on the role of the Mediterranean in Europe’s green transition and agreed on the need to strengthen regional cooperation”.

He added that this regional cooperation will be forged “so that the region can emerge as a clean energy hub, with enhanced stability and competitiveness”.

In addition, he called on Mediterranean countries to “jointly address challenges”, including gaps in infrastructure, through “unified procedures, technical cooperation, and a common framework for cross-border projects”, particularly in the field of renewable energy sources.

He also stressed “the importance of strengthening the Med9’s competitiveness through investment and skills development”, as well as the need to “exploit cooperation with third Mediterranean countries beyond the EU”.

This, he said, will “strengthen the region’s energy security and stability”.

The Med9 consists of the EU’s eight member states which have Mediterranean coastlines – Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain – and Portugal.