Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) was created on 17 February 1989 at a meeting in Marrakesh of Heads of State of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

This body was intended to coordinate and harmonise the development plans of the four countries as well as interregional trade to form a block vis-à-vis the EU. Mauritania adhered to the CPCM in 1988. All economic and political unification attempts failed due to the Western Sahara issue. Diplomatic initiatives of the United Nations Secretary-General and some Arab countries to help towards a solution to the issue created a favourable climate for the creation of the Arab Maghreb Union, as a reaction to the prospect of the completion of the European Single Market after 1992.

Main institutions of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)

• The Council of Heads of State (its last session was hold in 1994): There is a rotating chairmanship within the AMU which is held in turn by each nation.
• The Council of Foreign Ministers
• The Steering Committee
• The Justice Court: It is composed with ten members -two members per country-, to settle disputes between parties from member countries:,
• Maghreb Advisory Chamber: With 30 MPs per country,
• Ministerial Specialised Committees: Council of Ministers of Interior, Human Resources, Infrastructure, Economies and Finances and Food Security.
• General Secretariat: It was established permanently in Rabat in 1992. It has an annual budget of US$ 1.7 million (member states contribute on equal terms).

Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) brings consultation, coordination and a common voice to Arab world’s developmental perspectives, strategies and policies focusing on capacity development, aid effectiveness and south-south cooperation. Development effectiveness is the ability to achieve results that positively impact on people's lives and societies in a sustainable way, by strengthening their capacities to manage and promote their own human well being and by strengthening coherence between all policies relevant for development.