Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March Activities with the regional economic communities Intergovernmental Committee of Experts Rabat March 2010

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March : - SG ’ s report on enhancing the role of SROs - ECA ’ s repositioning exercise I Context New ECA orientation plan, two pillars: 1.Meet Africa ’ s development needs 2.Enhance regional integration Major objective of SRO-NA work program: - reinforce partnerships at the sub-regional level

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March ● Sub-regional Offices (SROs) and the Regional Integration, Infrastructure and Trade Division (RIITD) in charge of this process with the support of other ECAs substantive divisions and regional advisors I Context ● Regional economic communities (RECs) are the major actors for the promotion and the implementation of regional integration ● ECAs regional integration mission is undertaken through the implementation of Multi-year Programs (MyPs) signed between SROs or RIITD and the RECs ● ECA focal points for the implementation in NA: - RIITD for CEN-SAD and COMESA - SRO NA for UMA

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation CEN-SAD/RIITD 2008/09 MyP, particularly for a major study supporting free-trade among CEN-SAD countries Jan MOU signed between SRO-NA and UMA for 2008/09 MyP Jan SRO-NA has produced 2 reports related to the work with UMA: work program evaluation work program activities for

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA Areas of cooperation are based on studies, technical assistance, expert meetings and symposia covering topics such as: Trade and regional integration Achievement of the MDGs ICT and Science Statistics Capacity building UMA relations with other RECs and the rest of the continent Activities being implemented are at the intersection of several of these areas

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA ►Activity on Sustainable Development and food security In the midst of the food crisis, MyP started at the request of UMA by SRO-NA contribution to the Maghreb Conference on Agriculture (June/July 2008) Recommendations for pooling resources of UMA countries in order to: - provide training and encourage research - make more efforts to ensure efficiency of extension - Promote investments - elaborate UMA food security strategic vision (FSSV) ECA-NA is following-up with UMA the implementation of some of these recommendations, particularly FSSV

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA ► Activities on Private sector, trade facilitation & investments Ensure that investments are more in line with region ’ s socioeconomic challenges (employment, human resources, gender) Forum on investments (Reports, peer reviewed back to back with this ICE) Colloquium on women entrepreneurs (Preparation and Report in 2009, event in March 2010) Meeting on maritime transport (Preparation in , TBS in )

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA Forum on investments SRO-NA has prepared 4 reports for the Forum that UMA will organise in May A comparative analysis of investment codes, -Relations between investment (intra-maghreban and FDI) and economic growth and employment, -The way to adopt a Global Player approach, and -A synthesis of the recommendations.

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA Workshop on women entrepreneurs (March 2010) - Participation of major Maghreb women’s organisations - Strong partnership UMA, ECA, IDB, AfDB, UNIFEM and UNDP -Innovative recommendations to strengthen maghreban women entrepreneurs participation to RI -UMA decision to set up a recommendations follow up unit

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March II Implementation: the MyP with UMA Impact ►More regular and steady relations with UMA ► Strengthened links with private sector - Creation of CJD Maghreb - Active participation in the 1st Maghreb Businessmen Forum (UME, questionnaire WB) - Women entrepreneurs ► Evaluation workshop: lessons for better implementation for ► Strengthened partnership between UMA and other institutions (UN, Regional, international)

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March III the MyP with UMA Prepared during the review and discussed at the highest level 5 pillars ■ Strengthening the capacities of the UMA General Secretary, ■ intensification of the relations with the private sector and the civil society ■ Strengthening the relations of the Maghreb with the rest of Africa and acceleration of south-south cooperation, ■ Maghreb positioning with regards to regional and international agendas ■ Crisis bail out strategies in Maghreb and the attentiveness in front of MDGs realization

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March III the MyP with UMA ■ Several activities grouped in 3 themes A Institutional support and capacity building South South cooperation : UMA and other african RECs (2010) Statistical Capacities of UMA General Secrtariat : seminar on RI Observatory development (2010) Cyber security : workshop on the harmonization of the legal framework for cyber security (2010) Climate change and renewable energies: training workshop (2010) and forum (2011 or 2012) Follow-up of ECA-UMA relations : Round Tables on the state of the regional integration in the Maghreb, during ICE meetings ( ) Peer review : common elaboration and\or exchange for comments for reports, TOR for studies / consultant ( ) Monitring and evalution of UMA-ECA relations ( )

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March III the MyP with UMA B Economic development, trade facilitation and private sector promotion Investment development in Maghreb: forum (2010)* Banks role in RI promotion : experts meeting on the financing for development ( 2010 ) * Maritime transportation : Meeting on sea highway (2011) Agriculture : Conference on Investments in agriculture (for improved food security (Algiers 2010)) Support to implementation of the UNCCD in Maghreb (desertification)

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March III the MyP with UMA C MDGs and Social development Youth and entrepreneurship: colloquium on the role of youth in development (October 2010 ) Economic growth, youth / entrepreneurship and job creation: experts meeting on strengthening the social dimensions of development (2010 ) Renewable energies: conference (on 2011 or 2012) Health: promotion of medicines production and marketing in the Maghreb (on 2011 or 2012) Workers mobility in the Maghreb (2011) : Expert Group meeting and a publication Support to implementation of the UNCCD in Maghreb (desertification)

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March IV Outlook and recommendations Strategic planning: activities identified during a retreat and discussed at the top management level on December Implementation of program has started Develop a common strategy on building partnerships and fund raising Evaluation exercise to improve the effectiveness of SRO’s actions

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March IV Outlook and recommendations Increased work with private sector/civil society: Build on our work with UME, women entrepreneurs, CJD Maghreb, UMAGRI to develop cooperation with other maghreban stakeholders Reinforced collaboration between UMA and other RECs Make UMA a major player in norms and standards creation in African continental integration More reliance on knowledge networks and COP ’ s

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March IV Outlook and recommendations Develop more synergies with ongoing initiatives: ECA/UN level: RCM and NEPAD: Need for sub-regional coordination were recognised in SG’s report to 61st GA on SROs, mainly for: Aligning the work of the UN to priorities of RECs and their member States Monitoring the effectiveness and impact of the UN at the sub regional level ESCWA: MoU regional level: Arab League, UPM

Economic Commission for Africa Office for North Africa Intergovernmental Committee of Experts - Rabat, Morocco, March Thank you Nassim OULMANE