Businessmen in Maghreb to meet more often, boost integration process

08/12/2008

At a meeting in Tunis on Friday, businessmen from Maghreb countries discussed ways to improve economic and trade integration in the region.

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 08/12/08

[Getty Images] The building of the Arab Maghreb Union is necessary to preserve security and stability in the region, said Secretary-General Habib Ben Yahia at a recent conference in Tunis.

Representatives of businessmen's and trade associations in Arab Maghreb Union countries decided recently to meet every three months to discuss co-ordination and consultation on Maghreb economic integration and the Maghreb market.

The decision came after businessmen met at a forum in Tunis on December 5th to examine the reality and horizons of the joint Maghreb market. It was held by the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Traditional Industries in cooperation with Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Habib Ben Yahia, Secretary-General of the Arab Maghreb Union, said during the meeting that the activation of the joint Maghreb market would be the best response to increasing international interest in the union, from regional blocs like the EU and international funds and organisations, such as the IMF and the World Bank.

"All these entities consider the building of the Maghreb union a necessary step for preserving security and stability in the region", Ben Yahia said, "and for opening the horizons of investments in a promising Maghreb market."

The Maghreb market currently serves about 85 million consumers; according to Ben Yahia the goal is to reach 120 million by 2020.

He also said Maghreb nations currently export more goods to the European Union than to other countries in the region, "in spite of the efforts made on the level of the Arab Maghreb Union or Maghreb bilateral relations." Trade amongst Maghreb neighbours constitutes just 3% of the total foreign trade of the countries, except for Tunisian-Libyan exchange, where figures show considerable growth.

Two weeks ago, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in Tunis that the current financial crisis makes it more important than at any time in the past for Maghreb countries to accelerate their efforts towards integration.

"It will be growth," Kahn said at the time, "especially through the creation of the Maghreb Bank for Investment and Foreign Trade, that will facilitate the flow of trade and capital in the region, and will enhance the role of the private sector in creating joint development projects, particularly in the field of infrastructure."

Business will meet in Algeria in the coming few days to work together and organise a number of projects, said Bou Alam Marakech, a businessman from Algeria.

In order to achieve the desired level of trade among Maghreb countries, said Hedi Jilani, President of the Tunisian Union for Industry, Trade and Handcrafts, they must take a few measures.

"These measures," he said, "include accelerating the express railway between Maghreb countries, opening the borders between them, facilitating administrative procedures and reducing customs duties."