The meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) in Rabat ended as it had begun. The officials of the five Maghreb countries once again insisted on the imperative of achieving economic integration in the region, by taking advantage of the factors of complementarity and the great potential available to the countries of this group. Concretely, it is still not known how the AMU countries intend to go about it. It should be specified that the foreign ministers were meeting as part of the 31st session of their council. Economic as well as security topics were on the agenda of this meeting, notably the crisis that has shaken Mali and the Sahel-Saharan region as a whole over the last few months. In a statement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Saâd Eddine El Otmani, called for laying the foundations for "a new Maghreb governance capable of allowing optimal use of the human and natural potential that the region abounds with", adding that it is necessary to encourage investment, carry out integrated projects, unify customs and financial policies, and strengthen the freedom of movement of people and goods. For his part, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mourad Medelci, called for "a global and objective evaluation" of the progress of the AMU. "We need more than ever to work to find the most effective ways to build the Maghreb, on the basis of solidarity, mutual aid and unity of ranks," he continued. As usual, the head of Algerian diplomacy dodged all questions about the opening of his country's land borders with Morocco, which have been closed since 1994. He also remained vague about his country's role in the normalisation of relations with the Kingdom, contenting himself with stating that Moroccan-Algerian relations are experiencing a positive change. In a situation marked by the increase in security threats and economic needs, these challenges can only be met within the framework of "collective mobilisation", considered, for his part, the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Othman Jerandi, emphasising the "inevitability" of developing a joint action plan for the construction of a strong Union in the face of other groupings. Finally, it should be noted that the countries of the Arab Maghreb Union have agreed to develop a common vision for dialogue with the European Union (EU), at the end of this 31st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers. This involves creating a coordination mechanism between Maghreb ambassadors in Brussels for the intensification of consultation, the exchange of views and the evaluation of the EU's positions on this issue.

The resolution of the crisis in Mali must be "global", believes the AMU

The countries of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) believe that the resolution of the crisis in Mali must be "global" and "not limited to the military aspect", announced the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mohamed Abdelaziz, on Sunday in Rabat. Any UN mission in Mali "must not be confined to the classic role of peacekeeping", but must operate according to a global vision for the resolution of the crisis, in coordination with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), specified Mr. Abdelaziz during a press conference at the end of the AMU Council of Foreign Ministers. The UN mission is primarily called upon to provide assistance for the reconstruction of the Malian state and the achievement of democratic transition, through free and transparent elections and the renewal of state institutions, the head of Libyan diplomacy further stated. In the same context, his Mauritanian counterpart, Hamadi Ould Hamadi, revealed that the 31st session of the Council resulted in a harmonious position regarding the Malian crisis, in a way that preserves the security of that country.