New institute promotes Maghreb, Mediterranean unity

04/07/2008

The newly-formed Amadeus Institute opened its doors last month in Rabat, bringing together researchers and officials to address Mediterranean issues. Institute Vice-President Younes Slaoui talks about the institute's mission and the future of the Mediterranean Union.

Interview by Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 04/07/08

[Sarah Touahri] Amadeus Institute Vice-President and spokesman Younes Slaoui (centre) said at the institute's launch in Rabat last month that the new think tank is focused on Mediterranean issues.

An independent think tank and research institute opened last month in Rabat to identify and address issues in the Maghreb that hinder progress towards a Mediterranean Union. Younes Slaoui, Vice-President of the new Amadeus Institute, spoke with Magharebia recently about the organisation's research objectives.

Magharebia: What are your research objectives for the Maghreb and the European Union?

Younes Slaoui: We are putting ourselves forward as a South Mediterranean think tank. The primary thrust of our research is Morocco, followed by Maghreb/European Union co-operation the world economy and development strategies. We have a Moroccan, Maghreb and South Mediterranean outlook.

Magharebia: You first came into existence in 2005 as an association, to promote the Barcelona Process. Do you think the Union for the Mediterranean can help rescue this plan?

Slaoui: The Mediterranean Union is not yet a process which is likely to be successful, for a number of reasons. Foremost of these: countries on the south of the Mediterranean – Morocco and Algeria. If you want to travel from Rabat to Oran, you have to go via Paris. There are brakes on the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) which are an obstacle to the Mediterranean Union. We believe the Mediterranean Union is an opportunity. We must work for this.

Magharebia: What does the change from "association" to "institute" mean for you?

Slaoui: As an institute, we are based around research, consolidating the image of the Moroccan brand at the international level [and] conducting concerted, effective lobbying activities. An institute has several angles of attack.

Magharebia: What sort of things has your organisation done over the last decade to promote the Maghreb Union and, more recently, that of the Mediterranean?

Slaoui: We issue a publication which gives an assessment of the Barcelona process. Last May, we published a special dossier devoted to the Mediterranean Union. In Paris [this month] we shall be holding a preparatory meeting for our "Meday" international forum, which will take place November 26th and 27th in Tangier.

Magharebia: How do you hope to become a platform for understanding between the government, the private sector and the universities?

Slaoui: We set up a scientific council which includes a number of VIPs: Royal Advisor André Azoulay, former French Foreign Minister Hervé de Charrette, Fayçal Laraichi, managing director of the national radio and television broadcasting company, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, president of the Moroccan General Confederation of Business (CGEM) and so on. We are going to add more members from other countries…we want to put forward some real recommendations.

Magharebia: How can you help the Arab Maghreb Union move forward? What can researchers do in this area?

Slaoui: Unfortunately, over recent decades we have experienced a lack of any real co-operation between the two largest countries in the Maghreb, which has held back the building of the AMU. To reverse this trend, it is important to direct our lobbying towards decision-makers, but more than that, to provide information for the civil society so that we can counteract misconceptions. Maghreb researchers or specialists in the region have a major role to play. Through illustrative work and through their expertise, they can demonstrate the urgent need for union, the actual means to achieve this union, and the solutions to current conflicts.

Our institute sent an invitation to Tunisian researcher Khadija Mohsen Finan of the French Institute of International Relations, who said: "We must move towards a joining-together, an integration, and not towards a Balkanisation of the Maghreb."