Maghreb leaders agree to revive union

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Maghreb leaders agree to revive union

2012-01-18

The promise of a united Maghreb found fresh support from heads of state as they marked the first anniversary of the Tunisian revolution.

By Monia Ghanmi for Magharebia in Tunis – 18/01/12

The first anniversary of the Tunisian revolution brought five Maghreb states back together, rekindling hopes of a united Maghreb.

"We found a convergence of views with our brothers in Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco the re-activate the Arab Maghreb Union," Libya's National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on January 14th. "There is an urgent desire to develop and accelerate the activation of the Arab Maghreb Union so as to serve the interests of the people."

"We are determined to carry on our efforts to build the Great Arab Maghreb Union and turn our region into a hub of stability, co-operation and shared prosperity," Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Karim Ghellab, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, also attended the festivities.

The high-ranking officials agreed to strengthen economic partnership and boost ties among Maghreb peoples.

Marzouki promised that his government would support popular demands for re-building the union. He stressed the importance of freedom of movement, work, settlement, investment and municipal elections for all Maghreb citizens wherever they live.

The Tunisian president had earlier in Tripoli called for turning Tunisia and Libya into "one nation on one land and in one homeland". He urged Maghreb states to build the "Union of the Arab independent peoples" where citizens can live "in freedom and democracy".

For his part, the Algerian leader called for convening a meeting of Maghreb foreign ministers to discuss the new horizons of co-operation among Maghreb countries, in light of the transformations witnessed by Libya and Tunisia. The meeting will be held in late February in Morocco.

In the first half of February, Marzouki will pay a visit to Algeria to re-launch bilateral relations and discuss prospects for co-operation.

The Tunisian leadership is expecting moral support from its Algerian counterpart in the difficult situation it is currently going through, the Tunisian president told El Khabar on January 15th.

"I firmly believe that there is no future for Tunisia in Tunisia, and so is the case for Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania. Our future lies in the Maghreb entity," Marzouki told the Algerian daily, adding that his country was ready to host a Maghreb summit as soon as possible.

The countries need to "put aside" the issue of Western Sahara, which has long stood as an obstacle to Maghreb convergence, and "proceed to building the union", Marzouki said.

For his part, Ghellab said that building the union would boost the GDP growth of Maghreb states by two points.

"This is not an option. It is a strategic necessity for the development of our countries. This project has become possible today more than ever, thanks to the upheavals experienced by the nations of the region," he said.

The Mauritanian president struck a similar chord. Ould Abdel Aziz stressed his country's willingness to co-operate with Maghreb countries to realise people's will for building the union.

This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.

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