A Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) takes place in Rome, Italy in 13-14 November 2014 ahead of the Rome Ministerial Conference on 28 November 2014 where partner countries adopted the Rome Declaration and officially launched the EU/Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative or Khartoum Process.
Partner countries agree to assist the States affected by human trafficking and migrant smuggling between the Horn of Africa and Europe "through concrete actions, in a spirit of partnership, shared responsibility and cooperation".
Ministers from the following countries and organisations signed the Rome Declaration: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia and United Kingdom, and the European and African Union (AU) Commissioners in charge of migration and development, as well as the EU High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, in the presence of Norway and Switzerland.