Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was also in attendance at the opening of the plenary session, which is being hosted by Turkish Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin.
During the session, over 200 delegates from Morocco to Lebanon and from Portugal to Turkey will adopt resolutions and reports prepared during the 2009 calendar of events by the Standing Committees, the Special Task Forces and the Ad Hoc Committee, which met in various Mediterranean cities on topics ranging from climate change to disaster management, terrorism, inter-religious dialogue, immigration, gender equality and the Middle East. The calendar of activities for 2010 will also be adopted.
Following the plenary session, the assembly will hold the first meeting of the secretary-generals of the PAM member states on Sunday. Sunday’s meeting will be opened with a speech by Turkish Parliament Secretary-General Ali Osman Koca.
PAM aims at fostering and building confidence among Mediterranean states; guaranteeing regional security, stability and promoting peace; consolidating the endeavors of Mediterranean states; and presenting opinions and recommendations to national parliaments and governments, regional organizations and international forums.