Delegations from France, Italy and Spain have met at the margins of CRIC5 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to discuss with the Global Mechanism the foundations of a partnership to promote UNCCD implementation in the Mediterranean region. The objective of the partnership would be to expand and upscale the scope of the existing collaboration initiatives in the region and establish an umbrella framework for conducting joint activities in a more integrated and impactful manner. From the preliminary discussions widespread interest was expressed for the GM south-south cooperation programme (Solarid), the Policy and Investment programme and other GM initiatives.