First meeting of the Coordination Group of the 5+5 Initiative

The Spanish Navy has organized the first meeting of the Naval Coordination Group of the 5+5 Initiative which was held at the Naval Warfare College in Madrid, where the terms of reference were discussed. The Group will be presided over by Spain in 2014.

The meeting was attended by members of the following 5+5 Initiative Navies: Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Mauritania, Portugal, Italy and Spain.

This Group was set up on a proposal from Spain submitted in November 2012 intended to foster interoperability and efficiency of resources among 5+5 Initiative Navies.

Subsequently, during the meeting of Defense Ministers held in December 2012, a declaration was signed to implement the proposal.

This initiative plans to introduce changes in the current situation in order to improve the participation and the analysis of results in everything related to maritime security. Furthermore, it intends to use common scenarios and procedures and implement data bases with lessons learnt and training expertise.

5+5 Initiative

The 5+5 Initiative was set up in July 2004 to improve maritime security in Western Mediterranean. Member states are: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania.

Its activities are centered on four main goals: maritime security; air security; cooperation in cases of natural catastrophes or humanitarian crises; and training of military personnel and civilians.

The initiative endeavors to foster mutual awareness, understanding and confidence, as well as develop multilateral cooperation.