Agriculture Minister Petros Xenophontos left for Slovenia on Wednesday for a meeting of contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention.

The Barcelona Convention aims to protect the marine environment and the coastal region of the Mediterranean, and Xenophontos is set to discuss and review the progress achieved in this regard, while also speaking about next steps for 2024 and beyond.

Subsequent to this, the interministerial meeting will focus on the “green transition” in the Mediterranean region, with discussions to be held on the adoption of plans and programmes to help in this regard.

Following the conclusion of his meetings in Slovenia, he will head to Brussels for a Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries summit.

In Brussels, matters relating to the transport of grain from Ukraine following the commencement of Russia’s invasion, the Common agricultural policy, and new genomic techniques in agriculture will be discussed.

The ministers will also discuss matters regarding fishing in the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.