UCLG Africa promotes and advocates Partnership and Decentralised Cooperation at the 25th International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL), as a Vector for Peace, Solidarity and Sustainable Development

UCLG Africa and the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Regional Council organised a Session on the occasion of the 25th edition of the International Book and Publishing Fair (SIEL), on Monday 21 April 2025 in Rabat, on the Theme: “To promote and encourage South-South and Triangular Cooperation and Partnership in Africa, as a Vector for Peace, Solidarity and Sustainable Development”.

The Session was moderated by the Honourable Mrs Nadia RAHMANI, Vice-President of the Regional Council. She expressed her delight at the fruitful collaboration between the two organisations, which was reflected in the animation of this Session at the Region’s stand.

In his opening remarks and introductory report, Mr Jean Pierre ELONG MBASSI, Secretary General of UCLG Africa, emphasised that decentralised cooperation complements relations between States. “In Africa, we need local and regional authorities to take part in international relations. They must be at the forefront of building the future of our planet, our peoples and our governments. Decentralised cooperation has the advantage of moving away from petitions of principle, because citizens on the ground realise that what you say, you do“. For the Secretary General, decentralised cooperation must be recognised as one of the driving forces behind the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a pan-African initiative that has established frameworks for cooperation between States, while ‘forgetting to establish frameworks for cooperation between local authorities’. (Read is

Dr. Najat ZARROUK, Head of Capacity Building at UCLG Africa, spoke about the support strategy for Partnership and Decentralised Cooperation deployed among the organisation’s members. This cooperation aims to achieve both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. “UCLG Africa supports the African Fund for International Decentralised Cooperation (AFIDC), set up by Morocco, by advocating and sharing this experience as good practice in decentralised cooperation. Since 2020, the FACDI has supported 94 projects in favour of 92 local authorities in 26 African countries, with funding totalling 185 million dirhams“, she added.

Through the support of the FACDI, the training and capacity building component at the level of Local Authorities has been highlighted, via the granting of scholarships for the first two classes of the Executive Master in Management of African Cities (MEMVA) delivered by UCLG Africa in partnership with the Local Authorities that support the scholarships and Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane, which hosts the training. To date, 43 Territorial Managers have benefited from MEMVA I (French-speaking) and MEMVA II (English-speaking). The third promotion will take place during the 2nd Semester of 2025.

Decentralised cooperation in the field of health has also been tested through collaboration with the Moroccan association ‘Les Rangs d’Honneur’, headed by a Moroccan doctor. The MoU between UCLG Africa and this association involves offering local authorities a week of free healthcare. To date, 4 African towns have been selected and one has already benefited from the project. This is the municipality of Atar in Mauritania, supported by the Marrakech Municipal Council. In addition, a youth employability project has been implemented between the Mohammedia Prefectural Council (Morocco) and the Golfe 1 Municipality (Togo). 120 young people were trained in entrepreneurship and setting up projects. In Nigeria, the town of Shomolu-Bariga, in partnership with the Provincial Council of Tiznit (Morocco), is planning an eco-tourism project with a focus on decent jobs. In Banjul (Gambia), two projects for women and girls, mainly from rural communities, have been carried out with the support of the Lagfifat Commune. The construction of a women’s market and the supply of drinking water. Training in territorial leadership was also given to the Network of Locally Elected Women in Africa (REFELA) – Gambia’s national chapter.

The section on the mobilisation of resources for decentralised cooperation provided an opportunity to present the Africa Territorial Agency for Trade and Investment (ATIA). The document produced by Dr François YATTA, Head of Programmes at UCLG Africa, enabled participants to understand the context in which the ATIA was created, and the challenges and objectives of the ATIA as a common instrument enabling cities and local authorities to issue bonds on the capital markets, and to benefit from funds from the International Development Banks and the Green Climate Fund. The main advantages of the ATIA are:

Enable small towns and local authorities that would never have been able to access the financial market on their own to access finance on the same terms as the large ones

Reduce interest rates for towns and local authorities to levels close to, or even equal to, those obtained by the State

Reduce transaction costs for towns and local authorities

Access the resources of the International Development Banks and the Green Climate Fund.

Mr Gautier BRYGO, Director of the Territorial Coaching Programme, UCLG Africa, and Representative in Morocco of the Belgian NGO Echos Communication, contributed a video message on the promotion of multi-actor partnerships. In particular, he stressed the importance of cooperation between African territories and the opportunities offered by mechanisms such as the FACDI to support joint projects, as well as triangular cooperation, particularly with France, through decentralised cooperation between towns, departments and regions. He also shared concrete experiences from the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, which deserve to be promoted and replicated:

Reintegration of street vendors in Salé;

Professionalisation of domestic workers in Rabat with Echos Communication;

Support for migrants as part of the AMUDDU project.

All supported by the Territorial Coaching approach and tools, which strengthen decentralisation, participative local governance and the mobilisation of stakeholders.

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“His Majesty King Mohammed VI, when Morocco returned to the African Union, said that Africa must first rely on Africa. This is an extremely important point. This statement resonates with the ambition of the SIEL exhibition. It emphasises the contribution of Moroccans to the development of their country and to the development of the continent”, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi.