Mediterranean Union to name Arab head: Spain

(MADRID) - The nascent Mediterranean Union is "very close" to naming its first secretary general, who will be from an Arab country, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Tuesday.

He was speaking at a news conference in Madrid before leaving for Cairo to attend a meeting of representatives of member states.

The Mediterranean Union "is very close to naming its secretary general," who will be a representative of an Arab country, Moratinos said.

He said an announcement, which could come as soon as Tuesday evening, would allow the Union to prepare for its second planned summit, scheduled for Barcelona in June as part of Spain's six-month EU presidency.

Launched at a Paris summit in July 2008, the Mediterranean Union groups EU member states with countries in North Africa, the Balkans, the Arab world as well as Israel in a bid to foster cooperation in one of the world's most volatile regions.

But the project was the victim of the 22-day war in the Gaza Strip that ended on January 18 last year as Arab countries have refused to sit next to Israel.

France announced last month that the foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Jordan, Spain and Tunisia would meet in early January in Cairo to try to revive the grouping.