Carlos Moreira with Mr. Miguel Sebastián Gascón, Spanish Minister of Trade Industry and Tourism,

Carlos Moreira with Mr. Miguel Sebastián Gascón, Spanish Minister of Trade Industry and Tourism, Mr Houlin Zhao, ITU Deputy-Secretary General and the Mayor of Malaga Mr. Francisco de la Torre Prados during the event preceding the Malaga Summit.

The project has now taken on a new dimension, focusing on the objectives laid out by President Zapatero at the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM) recently organised by President Sarkozy in Paris on 14 July this year, where leaders from 43 countries, representing 750 million inhabitants launched Union for the Mediterranean (UPM).

As a result, the EuroAfrican Technological Hub became the “I’m Mediterranean Hub” and, Malaga the “Technological Capital of the Mediterranean”.

WISeKey, OISTE, Malaga Valley and the Ville of Malaga have culminated in the “Mediterranean Cities and Local Governments Summit”, proposed by the Malaga City government and the FSN, which will be held in Malaga on October 2-3, 2008, where the "I’m Mediterranean" Hub, waslaunched.

In Paris, the President of the Spanish government advocated strengthening the socio-economic and cultural cooperation in the region and underscored the fundamental role of the new information technologies. Zapatero invited European and Mediterranean leaders to the Mediterranean Cities Summit in Malaga, with the objective of promoting a truly Mediterranean digital space (ref. 2) This initiative will help Malaga to become the “Technological Capital of the Mediterranean”.

The cooperation among the City Government, Malaga Valley, FSN, the Technological Park of Andalusia, Mediterranean cities and the Spanish government is an unprecedented opportunity for making Malaga the Mediterranean Hub. This could have an international cooperation component in the release of a "Mediterranean digital space Declaration" which would be ratified and signed by all public and private sector dignitaries who would participate in the Malaga Summit, and in the development of the "I’m Mediterranean" Hub.