According to economists, a Maghreb economic community could provide its five members with “annual added value of around 10 billion dollars”.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers – 22/03/12

[AFP/Abdelhak Senna] The Algerian government and the Algerian people support rapprochement with Morocco, officials say.

Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci has called for greater unity across the Maghreb.

“What matters to our immediate regional environment is integration, and I think we have started along the right route to put things in place,” he said in an interview with Arabies, published March 15th.

Medelci continued by saying that cohesion was a fundamental objective “which needs to be seen as a priority. What matters to our immediate regional environment is integration, and I think we have started along the right route to put things in place.”

His words come against the backdrop of signs of a rapprochement between Algeria and Morocco.

On March 14th it was Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia’s turn to come back with positive views on bilateral relations with Morocco.

Quoted in the columns of the Algerian newspaper El Khabar, Ouyahia gave a reassurance that “the opening of the borders is a must”. Especially, he added, since “we are two neighbouring countries obliged to get along together, given the things which unite us, such as language, religion, common traditions, and our shared history and future.”

These converging positions are joined on the economic front by an increase in trade between the two countries. A report published by Algerian customs shows that trade between Algeria and the other countries in the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) saw an improvement of 18.14% in 2011.

Country-by-country, Morocco remained Algeria’s top trade partner over the past year, with trade worth $936 million compared with $713.3 million in 2010.

Algeria’s exports and imports to and from UMA countries have increased 15.46% and 24.5% respectively. These positive figures, according to economist Mohamed El Bani, put economic integration between the countries of the Maghreb firmly back on the agenda.

“Union between the five countries in the region could be the first step to the construction of a significant economic block, especially since Maghreb soil hides inestimable natural riches,” El Bani said.

His view is shared by Camille Sari, an economist and author of the book Algeria and Morocco.

“At the present time, Maghreb markets are limited, and they need to create new synergies and complementarities, seeking economies of scale in order to reduce their dependency upon the dominant economies and to increase their negotiating power in international relations,” he said in an interview published by Maghreb Emergent on March 10th.

Sari thinks that closing the Algerian-Moroccan borders has encouraged unregulated trade, drugs trafficking and money for mafia groups on both sides of the border.

“Those profiting from these illicit activities have much to gain from the status quo lasting as long as possible,” he said.

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A Maghreb economic community could provide its five members with “annual added value of around 10 billion dollars”. That is the equivalent of 5% of their total gross domestic product, according to Sari.

The Algerian public keeps a close eye on Algerian-Moroccan relations, hoping for a speedy resolution of remaining problems, particularly over the opening of borders.

“We need a strong AMU now, more than ever before. The stability of the region depends on it,” Aymed Belhimer, 34, a civil servant, told Magharebia.

Souhila Semari, a student of politics at university, pointed out that there has been “positive talk on both sides. So the political will exists, we simply need the courage to take that step.”

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