Relations with Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific are the topics to be discussed at an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers – known as a Gymnich meeting – that Portugal is to host in Lisbon on Thursday as part of the country’s presidency of the Council of the EU. The second theme for the Gymnich meeting is what are labelled “unresolved conflicts” in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, although the most topical, Belarus, is not on the official agenda. The agenda continues with relations with the Indo-Pacific region, which is also a priority for Portugal’s presidency. Finally, the situation in the Middle East is to be discussed during a working lunch, to which Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, Ayman al-Safadi, has been invited. The Gymnich meetings are named for the castle in Germany where the first was held in 1974.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 26, 2021 10:07 UTC