Structural transformation key for rise of North African economies, ECA
The Economic Commission for Africa is focusing on essential components of structural transformation, such as sustainable investment in infrastructures and new industries, which are key factors of growth and inclusive development; urban space management; the blue economy; or the set up of efficient and transparent institutions, said Lilia Hachem Naas, Director of the ECA Office for North Africa at the launch of the 7th North African Development Forum.
These various levels of action coincide with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and especially goals 9, 11, 14 and 16, she added.
About fifty experts from several national, regional and international institutions as well as development practitioners from North Africa, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa have taken part in the 7th North Africa Development Forum on “Governance, Structural Transformation and Sustainable Inclusive Development”
The aim of this event is to compare existing theories and practices regarding the impact of governance on industrialization in North African countries, North Africa’s integration into global markets, and job creation. According to ECA experts, good governance can facilitate the mobilization and efficient use of countries’ human and financial capitals. This in turn can help diversify their economies and facilitate their access to global markets and sustainable development.
The Arab Maghreb Union’s Director for food security Musbah Al Mabruk Al Maghour, who represented the UMA Secretary General at the meeting, stressed the importance of coordination between Maghreb countries for development and regional integration, especially in areas such as investment, trade, and freedom of movement for people, services, goods and financial flows.
Fifty years after North Africa gained its Independence; it is time for its countries to equip themselves with a development model that will allow them to structurally transform their economies, said Mohammed Mahdad, Director for Governance at the Moroccan Ministry of General Affairs and Governance. Such an evolution would imply revising the notion of governance across the region, he added.
The 7th North Africa Development Forum will be followed by the 11thInternational Colloquium of Rabat on: “Governance practices, economic transformation and inclusive development”. This event, which will take place in partnership with the WTO Chair of the Mohammed V University of Rabat, the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social sciences of Rabat and LEAD (University of Toulon Laboratory for Applied Economic Research in Development), will discuss the links between governance, regional integration and participation in global value chains.
