Arab Maghreb Union
Arab Maghreb Union إتحاد المغرب العربي | |
---|---|
Arabic | |
Demonym(s) | Maghrebis |
Member states | |
Leaders | |
• Secretary General | Taïeb Baccouche |
Area | |
• Total | 6,046,441 km2 (2,334,544 sq mi) (7th) |
Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 102,877,547 (13th) |
• Density | 17/km2 (44.0/sq mi) (217th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $1.299173 trillion [citation needed] (23rd) |
• Per capita | $12,628 [citation needed] |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | $382.780 billion [citation needed] (37st) |
• Per capita | $3,720 [citation needed] |
Gini (2012 [citation needed]) | 32.8 medium |
HDI (2019 [citation needed]) | 0.715 high (106th) |
Currency | |
Website maghrebarabe |
Politics of the African Union |
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The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) (
Creation
The idea for an economic union of the
Organization
There is a rotating chairmanship within the AMU which is held in turn by each nation. The current Secretary-General is the Tunisian Taïeb Baccouche.[9][10]
Members
During the 16th session of the AMU Foreign Ministers, held on 12 November 1994 in Algiers, Egypt applied to join the AMU grouping.
Economy
The economy of the AMU combines the economies of four out of five member states.[
Country | GDP (nominal) | GDP (PPP) | GDP (nominal) per capita | GDP (PPP) per capita | HDI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | 200,171,000,000 | 693,109,000,000 | 4,645 | 16,085 | 0.754 |
Libya | 51,330,000,000 | 79,595,000,000 | 7,803 | 12,100 | 0.706 |
Mauritania | 5,243,000,000 | 19,472,000,000 | 1,291 | 4,797 | 0.520 |
Morocco | 122,458,000,000 | 332,358,000,000 | 3,441 | 9,339 | 0.667 |
Tunisia | 42,277,000,000 | 151,566,000,000 | 3,587 | 12,862 | 0.735 |
Arab Maghreb Union | 421,479,000,000 | 1,276,100,000,000 | 3,720 | 12,628 | 0.707 |
Operations
There have been problems of traditional rivalries within the AMU. For example, in 1994, Algeria decided to transfer the presidency of the AMU to Libya. This followed the diplomatic tensions between Algeria and other members, especially Morocco and Libya, whose leaders continuously refused to attend AMU meetings held in Algiers. Algerian officials justified the decision, arguing that they were simply complying with the AMU Constitutive Act, which stipulates that the presidency should in fact rotate on an annual basis. Algeria agreed to take over the presidency from Tunisia in 1994, but could not transfer it due to the absence of all required conditions to relinquish the presidency as stipulated by the Constitutive Act.
Following the announcement of the decision to transfer the presidency of the Union, the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, stated that it was time to put the Union "in the freezer".[11] This raised questions about Libya's position towards the Union. The concern was that Libya would have a negative influence on the manner in which it would preside over the organisation.[8]
Moreover, traditional rivalries between Morocco and Algeria, and the unsolved question of Western Sahara's sovereignty, have blocked union meetings since the early 1990s despite several attempts to re-launch the political process. Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony south of Morocco that was "reintegrated" by the kingdom of Morocco, has declared independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The latest top-level conference, in mid-2005, was derailed by Morocco's refusal to meet, due to Algeria's vocal support for Sahrawi independence. Algeria has continuously supported the Polisario Front liberation movement.[8]
Several attempts have been made, notably by the
In addition, the quarrel between Gaddafi's Libya and Mauritania has not made the task of reinvigorating the organization any easier. Mauritania has accused the Libyan secret service of being involved in a 2003 attempted coup against President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. Libya has denied all the accusation.[12][13]
In 2023, the single currency project in the area remains technically feasible but politically infeasible.[14]
See also
- Maghrebis
- African Economic Community (AEC)
- Arab League
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
- Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS)
- Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA)
- Greater Arab Free Trade Area(GAFTA)
- List of trade blocs
- US - Middle East Free Trade Area(US-MEFTA)
- African Union (AU)
- Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)
References
- ^ Francesco Tamburini, L'Union du Maghreb Arabe, ovvero l'utopia di una organizzazione regionale africana, en "Africa", N. 3, 2008, p. 405-428
- ^ "Official Website: upcoming meetings". Archived from the original on 2018-02-08. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
- ^ "Tunisia president in Morocco to promote Maghreb union". Al Arabiya. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2017-05-08.
- ISBN 978-3-598-07735-7.
It was reported in early January 2006, that the largely moribund Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) had appointed...
- ^ Thorne, John (February 17, 2012). "The liberated Maghreb looks to economic union". The National. Abu Dhabi.
Tunisia's interim president, Moncef Marzouki, toured Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria last week in a bid to breathe life into the moribund Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), a planned North African trading bloc. While economic integration could boost employment and living standards across the region, leaders largely unanswerable to voters dithered for years in making it happen.
- ^ a b "UMA - Arab Maghreb Union". UN Economic Committee for Africa. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "PANAPRESS - PANAFRICAN News Agency - Official Web Site". Panafrican News Agency. 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
- ^ a b c d Aggad, Faten. "The Arab Maghreb Union: Will the Haemorrhage Lead to Demise?" African Insight. 6 April 2004.
- ^ "Maghreb: Taieb Bacchouche, New Chairman of Arab Maghreb Union | The North Africa Post". The North Africa Post. 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
- ^ "Taieb Baccouche Appointed Secretary General of the Arab Maghreb Union". Tunisia-TN. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
- ^ Le Quotidien d'Oran. 2003. Le Maghreb en Lambeaux. 23 December 2003. p 1
- ^ Le Quotidien d'Oran. 2003. La Libye dément avoir financé un plan présumé de coup d'État en Mauritanie. 21 December. p 9
- ^ "Libya denies Mauritania coup link". 2004-09-30. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ "Monnaie commune pour le Maghreb: Techniquement faisable, politiquement, une chimère. - Jamel BENJEMIA جمال بن جميع".