Arab Maghreb Union
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| اتحاد المغرب العربي Arab Maghreb Union |
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| Seat of Secretariat | Rabat, Morocco | |||
| Official languages | Arabic | |||
| Type | Trade bloc | |||
| Membership | 5 arab states | |||
| Leaders | ||||
| - | Secretary General | Habib Ben Yahia | ||
| Website http://uma.leguide.ma |
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The Arab Maghreb Union (Arabic: اتحاد المغرب العربي; transliterated: Ittihad al-Maghrib al-Araby, French:Union du Maghreb arabe) is a Pan-Arab trade agreement aiming for economic and political unity in North Africa.
The idea for an economic union of the Maghreb began with the independence of Tunisia and Morocco in 1956. It was not until thirty years later, though, that five Maghreb states - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia - met for the first Maghreb summit. The following year, in 1989, the agreement was formally signed by all member nations. There is a rotating chairmanship, which is held in turn by each nation. The current secretary-general is Tunisian diplomat Habib Ben Yahia.
However, traditional rivalries between Morocco and Algeria, and the unsolved question of Western Sahara's sovereignty have blocked union meetings since the early nineties, despite several attempts to re-launch the political process. The latest top-level conference, in mid-2005, was derailed by Moroccan refusal to meet, due to Algeria's vocal support for Saharan independence.
During the 16th session of the UMA Foreign ministers, held on 12 November 1994 in Algiers, Egypt formally applied to join the UMA grouping.
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[edit] Members
- Image:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria (1989)
- Image:Flag of Libya.svg Libya (1989)
- Image:Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania (1989)
- Image:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco (1989)
- Image:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia (1989)
[edit] References
- Bensouiah, Azeddine (26 June, 2002). "Stunted growth of the Arab Maghreb Union". Panapress.
[edit] See also
- List of Trade blocs
- African Economic Community (AEC)
- Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA)
- Middle East Free Trade Area (US-MEFTA)
- Agadir Agreement
- Arab League
- GAFTA
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
[edit] External links
ar:اتحاد المغرب العربيbr:Unaniezh Maghrib Arab ca:Unió del Magrib Àrab cs:Svaz arabského Maghrebu de:Arabische Maghreb-Union es:Unión del Magreb Árabe fr:Union du Maghreb arabe it:Unione del Maghreb Arabo ja:アラブ・マグレブ連合 pt:União do Maghreb Árabe ru:САМ sv:Maghrebunionen
