Leaders from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East launched a 43-nation Union for the Mediterranean today pledging practical cooperation on water, energy and education.
Urging Mediterranean states to emulate Europe's model of reconciliation and cooperation, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said the birth of the new organisation that was his brainchild on taking office last year was "a dream come true."
The ceremonial inaugural summit at the Grand Palais in Paris sealed a new detente between Syria and Europe, with the Syrian and Israeli leaders sitting at the same table for the first time.
"Everyone will have to make an effort, as the Europeans did, to put an end to the deadly spiral of war and violence, that, century after century, repeatedly brought barbarity to the heart of civilisation," Mr Sarkozy said in the keynote speech.
But there was no handshake and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad appeared to go out of his way to avoid Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, hiding his face behind his arm as he walked past where the Israeli leader was standing.
Mr Mubarak, co-president of the summit, told the leaders they must work together to meet the challenges of food, education and health for their growing populations.
"I am certain this initiative will bear fruit, that it will be a happy initiative. We have made some giant steps down this road towards cooperation between Europe and the Mediterranean area," he told a final news conference with Mr Sarkozy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, initially hostile to Mr Sarkozy's initiative because the original plan was to exclude northern EU states, said France and Germany planned to host a conference on developing solar energy as a key resource in the Mediterranean region.
Both wanted to promote economic development to help reduce migratory pressure from North Africa to Europe, she said.
The final summit communique, issued after hours of wrangling over the wording on the Arab-Israeli conflict, voiced support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process but omitted any direct mention of a two-state solution.
A Palestinian official said president Mahmoud Abbas was still seeking to have that paragraph removed after the French hosts distributed the text, saying Abbas had approved it.
The leaders also welcomed the announcement of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria under the auspices of Turkey.
France and Egypt co-chaired the summit but detailed arrangements on the future of the co-presidency and secretariat were postponed to November due to persistent disagreements.
In a compromise, the Arab League will not receive formal observer status but will be invited to meetings of the EU-Mediterranean partnership known as the Barcelona process.
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner identified climate change, the environment, access to water and energy, migration and dialogue between civilisations as key areas for cooperation.
The new organisation aims to pursue practical projects with EU and private sector funding, such as cleaning up the Mediterranean Sea, using North Africa's plentiful sunshine to generate solar power, and building road and sea highways.
Reuters