There is also illegal immigration towards Maghreb and Western countries.

The first order of business, however, must be to resolve inter state conflicts, such as the Algerian Moroccan dispute over the Western Sahara, which prevent the creation of a unified Maghreb.

From the Maghreb to the Levant to the Arabian Peninsula, Arab history is on the move.

The Arab Maghreb Union could be revived.

The region s abundant gas resources should also be used to power desalination plants to meet the Maghreb s enormous water needs.

Before an economically unified Maghreb can be realized, however, inter state conflicts such as the Algerian Moroccan dispute over the Western Sahara must be resolved.

Yet they remain islands of underdevelopment less than 2 of the five Maghreb countries trade is with one another, and much the same is true of the eastern Mediterranean countries of the Mashreq and of the Gulf states.

Project documents have been prepared in collaboration with AMU, Angola, Benin and Senegal.

Some efforts have been made at regional level, however, and it has been decided in particular to set up an observatory on drought and desertification in countries of the AMU and the CILSS.

Let s start by stating the obvious AQIM is not a product of the Arab Spring.

The potential for intra Maghreb trade seems to be constrained partly by the similarity of the economies of some countries, notably Morocco and Tunisia.

The Maghreb region may lead in this regard, but the phenomenon is observable throughout the Arab world, even in the most rigidly conservative states.

The struggle between religion and state in the Maghreb is less violent, but potentially explosive nonetheless.

A project document will shortly be submitted by UMA and UNCTAD to donors for financing.

Such projects would greatly boost integration of the Maghreb if they were accompanied by industrial projects based on gas as feedstock or as an energy source and jointly developed with EU partners.

Mohamad Sahli goes beyond merely criticizing the conference for using English or ignoring the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, and Mauritania) and he announces plans of his own

Since June 2004, Angola, Benin and Mauritania, as well as the UMA, have formulated technical assistance requests.

Finally, technical assistance was provided to the UMA to elaborate a comprehensive technical assistance project jointly with other UNCTAD programmes.

Some efforts have been made at regional level, and it has been decided in particular to set up an observatory on drought, desertification and natural disasters in countries of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the Permanent Inter State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS).

Until now, less than 2 of the Maghreb countries foreign trade has remained within the region.

Yet many in the Maghreb policymakers and the public alike remain ambivalent about regional integration.

At a time when the European Union and the United States are anxious to promote political and economic reform in the Arab world, they should not overlook the Maghreb.

Peace protest in Tunis during the revolution in 2011 CC BY 20 Guy Sitbon is a journalist of mixed French, Italian and Tunisian heritage, a veteran reporter of North African and Middle Eastern affairs for French publications such as Le Monde, The Nouvel Observateur and Marianne.

OSS has supported the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) in the installation of an early warning system on drought and desertification.

But today only 1.2 2 of the five Maghreb countries foreign trade is within the region.

Projects to promote wood energy have been launched in some Sahel countries (Mali and Niger) and in Morocco.

But Europe and the Western world must also cooperate more closely with key Muslim countries. We need Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Maghreb countries as partners in the fight against Islamist terrorism, and that means improved operational cooperation between security authorities.

After this terrible crime, countries including in the Arab world were ready to embrace far reaching steps.

The entire greater Middle East from the Maghreb to Afghanistan and Pakistan is socially, economically, and politically unstable.

As they negotiate the realities of modern economic life, the Maghreb s Islamist ruling parties are likely to lose some supporters.

In November 2005, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov visited Tunisia as part of a working visit to the Maghreb.

Iraq and Lebanon are also the Arab world s most ethnically and religiously diverse countries.

Indeed, it affects the entire Arab world, particularly the vulnerable Gulf countries, and even Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Joint transport ventures, for example, would have a strong political impact and maximum visibility, and would bring Maghreb citizens closer together physically and psychologically.

Thanks to strong connection in the Maghreb and sub Saharan Africa, Daesh, could recruit a few additional groups in its wake, despite their well known discrimination internally against African jihadist fighters.

Dramatically, the Arab world has been swept by a revolutionary spring, though one that is rapidly becoming a chilly winter.

First, integration of the Maghreb would create economies of scale and boost competition, establishing a market of more than 75 million consumers similar in size to several of the world s most dynamic trading powers and certainly large enough to increase the region s attractiveness to foreign investors.

Experts predict that parts of Southern Africa will suffer hotter, drier weather patterns, as will the northern Maghreb region.

In the Middle East and the Maghreb, this external factor is missing democratic change must come from within each society.

In the face of globalization s growing challenges, the only force strong enough to harness the Maghreb s enormous economic potential is shared political will.

Currently, the Maghreb countries suffer from soaring unemployment, poverty, and high prices for basic commodities.

We need Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Maghreb countries as partners in the fight against Islamist terrorism, and that means improved operational cooperation between security authorities.

An international film contest and a local one were also held in this 7th edition of the festival, which featured entries from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Egypt and France, along with Mauritania.

Although for political reasons, the current AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdal refuses to swear allegiance to Daeish, many of its army leaders have now joined the ranks of Daeish.

Assistance was given to the member States of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) on WTO issues and assessment of the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference and the reinforcement of their regional cooperation process.