Forum of Regions of Morocco and Mauritania: Towards Integrated Sustainable Development of Territories

The Secretary General of UCLG Africa, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, took part in the second edition of the Forum of Regions of Morocco and Mauritania held on April 23, 2024, at the Tour Hassan Palace Hotel in Rabat, Morocco. The theme of the meeting was: “Regionalization and Integrated Sustainable Development of Territories in Morocco and Mauritania”.  

The opening ceremony featured speeches by Ms. Mbarka Bouaida, President of the Association of Moroccan Regions; Ms. Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of the Mauritanian Association of Regions; and Mr. Abdelouahab El Jabri, Governor in charge of the Cooperation and Documentation Unit at the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior’s General Directorate for Local Authorities (DGCT).   

They all stressed the importance and usefulness of strengthening cooperation between the regions of Morocco and Mauritania to root democracy and development within communities and populations. The territorialization of the development agenda is indeed what makes development real at grassroots level. The Forum should provide an opportunity to anchor the culture of dialogue between the two countries on the implementation of the decentralization policy. The signing of numerous agreements between the regions of Morocco and Mauritania is helping to bring the populations of the two countries closer together around the challenges of development and the consolidation of friendship and fraternity ties. 

Work continued with an introductory report on regionalization and integrated sustainable development by Prof. Ahmed Ajaoun, Dean of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences in Kenitra, and three panels on the following themes: programming instruments for integrated, sustainable regional development; financing mechanisms for territorial projects; the role of regional development agencies and types of partnership cooperation.   

The meeting concluded with the adoption of the summary report by Prof. Lahcen El Hamidi, lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of Kenitra.