The Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises (BUSINESSMED) is a regional professional organisation created thanks to the will, determination and militancy of the federations' presidents of the twelve members and which aims at accelerating the integration and the social and economic development in the region. BUSINESSMED headquarters, based in Tunis since its creation in January 2004, ensures a permanent contact with the federations of the twelve Mediterranean Partner Countries that it represents. BUSINESSMED main objective is economic integration within Europe and World economy.

« Employers in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, call for the implementation of a strong and coherent economic strategy with the objective of liberalizing North-South and South-South exchanges, prosperity of the peoples and sustainability of the Mediterranean patrimony» through:

• Mediterranean integration
• Increasing exchange between the European Union and the Mediterranean countries
• Enhancing technological transfer towards South-Mediterranean countries
• Increasing foreign direct investment flows
• Implementing a regulatory framework for investors
• Endeavoring to make the Union for the Mediterranean not only political but also economic and social
• Creating a free trade area around the Mediterranean basin by 2010
• Undertaking partnership actions between the various business communities in the region
• Lobbying and business advocating for a wider participation of the private sector in the actions to be undertaken by governments in order to achieve a prosperous free trade area.

Founder Members

CGEA-Algeria, OEB-Cyprus, FEI-Egypt, MAI-Israël, JCI-Jordan, ALI-Lebanon, CGEM-Morocco, PFI-Palestine, FSCC& CCI -Syria, UTICA-Tunisia

Associate Members

CONFINDUSTRIA-Italy, FIG-SEV-Greece, MEDEF-France, BDA-Germany, SAE- Serbia, ASEM-Italy, AIP-Portugal, TUSIAD & TISK-Turkey, CEOE-Spain, UNPM-Mauritania

Businessmed presidency

The Council presidency is a rotating one: it is held by each founder Member in turn, for a two year period.
Actually and since the last General Assembly held in Alexandria on september 22nd 2011, Mrs Ouided Bouchamaoui (President of UTICA – Tunisia) was elected at the head of Businessmed for a two year mandate. Mr Hatem Halawani, (President of the JCI -Jordan) was appointed as Vice-President for a two-year mandate as well

Programmes

BusinessMed is partner in the 3 year regional programme Invest in med. A programme co-funded by the European Commission and aiming at developing sustainable trade relationships, investments and enterprise partnerships between the two rims of the Mediterranean. The programme is implemented by ANIMA in partnership with BusinessMed, ASCAME, Eurochambres. 

Businessmed is part also of the MedAlliance, a network gathering economic development organisations (ANIMA, leader of the programme), CCIs (ASCAME, EUROCHAMBRES), and business federations (BUSINESSMED). The members of these networks, as well as their special partners (UNIDO, GTZ, EPA Euroméditerranée, etc.), gather a thousand of economic actors - mobilised through pilot initiatives centered on key Mediterranean promising niches. Each year, a hundred operations associate the 27 countries of the European Union and 9 Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia.