Rabat, 21 May 2013 (ECA) - Most of the countries in the Maghreb region are experiencing an important moment in their history, with a number of crucial changes that raise expectations and immediate effects and others that are much less perceptible in the short term. These changes deserve to be accompanied by a reflection on the development priorities at the level of each State separately, as well as in terms of their interactions in the region, in order to ensure a regional integration that is more effective, more concrete and much more focused.
To this end, there is a need to evaluate initiatives and support programmes meant for UMA and its member countries, and if need be, these should be adapted to North Africa’s evolving socio-economic environment.
The partnership between ECA and UMA is part of this approach. Over the 2010-2012 period, cooperation between the two institutions have reached significant achievements with regard to policy formulation in strategic areas, such as food security, renewable energy development, youth participation to the development process, trade, ICT and cyber security.
These are some of the key findings that emerged from the meeting held on May 2 in Rabat (Morocco) between the General Secretariat of the UMA and ECA’s North Africa Subregional Office aiming to (i) evaluate the results of their multiyear cooperation programme and (ii) identify the medium-term priorities of the sub-regional agenda, within the dual context of ECA’s repositioning and the political changes North Africa has witnessed.
For the period 2013-2015, the two institutions agreed on the need for stakeholders and partners to focus subregional initiatives on a few major themes that are in direct relationship with the current challenges. Actions to be taken over the short and medium terms must help provide more effective responses to challenges such as growth and youth employment since they correlate with migration issues and security risks; extending national markets thanks to a greater factor mobility in North Africa; developing regional infrastructure; ensuring food security and fighting against desertification; as well as building UMA capacity for a better implementation of its sectoral policies.
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