In her speech in the Library of Alexandria on 3 May 2001, Mrs. Mubarak stated that the Library of Alexandria is to be ". Egypt's Window on the World.", ". The Library of Alexandria should be the natural gateway where Egyptians would go to know the civilizations of the world, especially the cultures of the Mediterranean region.".
The Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center, or Alex-Med, was created as:
A research and documentation center;
A forum for cultural preservation, interaction and exchange; and An actor for promoting economic development and sustainability.

This is in line with Law No.1 for the year 2001 concerning the Library of Alexandria, Article 3, point 4 specifying that one of the missions of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is "undertaking studies connected to the historical, geographic, cultural and religious aspects of the Mediterranean region, in the Middle East, Egypt and Alexandria specifically".

Since its founding by Alexander the Great, Alexandria has had two periods of historical and cultural greatness. During the classical era, it was the capital of the ancient world and its center of learning. The city's pivotal position as a Mediterranean Civilization contributed to its growth and cultural diversity. During the Middle Ages, Alexandria maintained strong contacts and exchanges with various parts of the Islamic and Mediterranean worlds, such as Andalusia and the Maghreb, Syria and Turkey, the independent city-states of Venice and Genoa, and the peoples of Greece and Cyprus. The city's second period of greatness was between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries: the era that has been alternatively called the "cosmopolitan" or "golden age" of Alexandria. Once more, its cultural and ethnic diversity led it to blossom from a forgotten backwater to Egypt's financial and cultural capital. In both periods, the role and mission of Alexandria were kin keeping with the vision of its founder, who sought to spread internationalism and to promote a healthy spirit of diversity, pluralism and interaction.

Alex-Med aims at restoring the historic role of Alexandria, and at promoting Alexandrian culture and Alexandrianism, by reviving the city's spirit of diversity, tolerance and cooperation once more in the Mediterranean. It also intends to promote the culture of the Mediterranean and its relation to Europe and the rest of the world.

Alex-Med is dedicated to research, document and manage the tangible and intangible heritage of Alexandria, and participate in the sustainable development of the city and replace it at the heart of a Mediterranean culture.. In order to fulfill its mission, Alex-Med works on four parallel axes: Research, Dissemination, Dialogue and Development Planning.