Arab Maghreb: weak interregional trade

The Maghreb is lagging behind in terms of interregional trade, which represents less than 3% of the five countries composing it, away from the ambitions, stressed the experts gathered in Tunis for the 20th anniversary of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

•     According to the participants, thirty-seven agreements and conventions have been signed without implementing the proposed economic integration within the framework of a free trade area for a common market of 90 million potential consumers.
  
      Founded on 17 February 1989 by Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, the AMU is undermined by problems that paralyse its political integration, particularly on the issue of Western Sahara, despite the repeated injunctions of its international partners.
  
      The latest came from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) whose director Dominique Strauss-Kahn called in November the Maghreb countries to apply themselves to their relationship with the European Union (EU).
  
      These countries, which generally carry about 80% of their trade with the EU are struggling to open their borders and to activate a joint Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade.
  
      "Progress has been made, but the available potential remains very high, noted the Tunisian Minister of Development Mohamed Nouri Jouini.
  
      According to him, "an increase of trade would therefore bring two points of additional growth to the countries and reducing unemployment, which particularly affects young people tempted by immigration.
  
      "Our economies are complementary and the region contains about 3% of world reserves of oil, 4% of natural gas reserves and 50% of proven reserves in phosphates," he stressed to the symposium.
  
      Mabrouk Bahri, conference organizer and president of the Maghreb Union of Farmers, warned the UMA countries on the risk in order to face the challenges of dispersed food insecurity, climate change, scarcity of fishery resources and lack of water.
  
      For the private sector, Hedi Djilani expressed on behalf of the contractors, the lack of regulations and financial instruments and made common cause with the problems of air transport, maritime and land in the region.
  
      In particular, he charged the private sector the responsibility of Non-Maghreb, denouncing an environment characterized by protectionism and low willingness to accept the rules of free competition.
  
      The participants, including representatives of the UN Agency for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have also drawn attention to the issues of multilateral negotiations on agricultural trade liberalization.
  
      Agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, oils, seafood, canned) represent almost 11% of total regional trade, according to the Tunisian Union for Agriculture of the fishery.
  
      
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.