Morocco: First forum of African regions, an opportunity to promote decentralized cooperation

The 1st edition of the Forum of African Regions (FORAF) is held this September 8 to 10 in the Moroccan north-eastern city of Saidia, with the participation of 85 presidents of African regions from more than 20 African countries adopting a decentralized system.

The forum features several panels and workshops that will benefit more than 400 participants, including a large number of Moroccan and African regional elected officials, in addition to national and foreign institutional partners of the councils of regions.

The workshops of this event, which is part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Forum of the organization “United Cities and Local Governments of Africa” (UCLG Africa), held in 2018 in Marrakech, will address several major themes, such as territorial division, climate challenges, management of financial and human resources and the issues of economic and social development of the regions.

The second day of this event will be devoted to the holding of the constitutive general assembly of FORAF, marked by the election of the president and the board, as well as the adoption of the statute and the roadmap of this forum, which is based on the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the objectives set by the African Union to the horizon 2063.

At the end of this meeting, the FORAF will be established as a governance body within UCLG Africa, to enable member regions to work together for the development and integration of Africa.

At a press conference on the eve of the forum, President of the Association of Regions of Morocco (ARM), Mbarka Bouaida, said the gathering provides an opportunity to share experiences in the service of decentralized cooperation.

Other participants in the press conference, including the President of UCLG Africa, Fatimetou Abdel Malick, the Secretary General of the organization, Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, and Presidents of several Moroccan regions, highlighted the importance of this forum and the role it can play at the African and international levels.

The Forum, they said, is an opportunity for debate and exchange of experiences of open governments, in addition to setting up the roadmap for the Cap 2030-2063, aimed at the effective and efficient contribution of regional governments in sustainable development and integration dynamics at the African level.