The two-day conference is seeing the participation of 60 hybrid delegations representing Euro-Mediterranean governments.

The meeting is the first such conference organised within the framework of the EU-Southern Partnership.

Egypt's culture minister said the conference is "an important step to implement more conjoint projects between Euro-Mediterranean countries in the fields of culture, creativity, and heritage safeguarding." She added that the meetings will strengthen the paths for supporting and financing Egyptian creators.

The conference's first edition is organised in coordination with the Italian minister of culture and the presidency of the European Union in France, and sees the participation of the ministers of culture of the European Union and Mediterranean countries, in addition to a number of international organisations and institutions, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UNESCO, and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM).

The topics tackled during the conference include promoting the fields of culture and heritage as a common interest between the participating countries and organisations, protecting heritage from illegal trade, setting up the development policies for culture and the creative economy in light of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda, the impact of climate change on culture and heritage, and the opportunities offered by the Erasmus programme to support talents in the field of culture and the arts.

The meetings will also include discussions around preparations for COP27, slated to be held in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.