Congress President Gudrun Mosler-Törnström addressed the 9^th Plenary Assembly of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Giza, Egypt on 21 February 2018, on the subject of women's empowerment and participation. The Assembly provided an opportunity to determine the priorities for the activities in the current ARLEM mandate and debate two thematic reports, on women empowerment in the Mediterranean region and on combating radicalisation and violent extremism among young people in the Mediterranean. It was also an occasion to build synergies between ARLEM activities and the Congress’ South-Med Partnership programme. The Congress enjoys observer status with ARLEM since its creation in 2010 by the Committee of the Regions.