Arab Maghreb Union

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اتحاد المغرب العربي

Arab Maghreb Union

Seat of Secretariat

Rabat, Morocco

Official languages

Arabic

Type

Trade bloc

Membership

5 arab states

Leaders

Secretary General

Habib Ben Yahia

Website
http://uma.leguide.ma

The Arab Maghreb Union (Arabic: اتحاد المغرب العربي; transliterated: Ittihad al-Maghrib al-Araby, French:Union du Maghreb arabe) is a Pan-Arab trade agreement aiming for economic and political unity in North Africa.

The idea for an economic union of the Maghreb began with the independence of Tunisia and Morocco in 1956. It was not until thirty years later, though, that five Maghreb states - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia - met for the first Maghreb summit. The following year, in 1989, the agreement was formally signed by all member nations. There is a rotating chairmanship, which is held in turn by each nation. The current secretary-general is Tunisian diplomat Habib Ben Yahia.

However, traditional rivalries between Morocco and Algeria, and the unsolved question of Western Sahara's sovereignty have blocked union meetings since the early nineties, despite several attempts to re-launch the political process. The latest top-level conference, in mid-2005, was derailed by Moroccan refusal to meet, due to Algeria's vocal support for Saharan independence.

During the 16th session of the UMA Foreign ministers, held on 12 November 1994 in Algiers, Egypt formally applied to join the UMA grouping.