On 7 May 2018, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation hosted a New-Med conference. Eight young professionals from the MENA region - all selected through a very competitive peer-review process - presented their ideas and perspectives on the major socio-economic and political challenges impacting states and societies in the region and the future prospects of youth in particular.

On April 13, the UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus hosted an international conference on energy trends in the Mediterranean basin. The meeting was organized by the IAI and PRIO in the context of the New-Med initiative. The latter is a public-private partnership effort to promote Track II dialogue on a number of security and co-operation issues in the Mediterranean, including policy areas addressed by the OSCE in the context of its Mediterranean Partnership.