Participation of the Amadeus Institute in the Bamako Forum
The Amadeus Institute was invited to speak at the 10th edition of the Bamako Forum. The Forum gathers decision makers and experts annually to discuss African development.
Younes Slaoui, Vice-President of the Amadeus Institute, spoke at the closing ceremony alongside Modibo Sidibe, the Prime Minister of Mali, Philippe Vasseur, the former French Minister of Agriculture, and Abdullah Coulibaly, the initiator of the Bamako Forum. He also participated in a session dedicated to shared political experiences and integration in the agricultural field. Mr. Slaoui presented the agricultural policies of the Maghreb and the “Green Morocco” plan alongside Leo Sidibe Moussa, Secretary General of the Malian Ministry of Agriculture, Angel Scott, Dean and Director of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in Georgia, USA, and Claudia Wulz, Director General for Agriculture of the European Commission.
Following a trip to the U.S, the Amadeus Institute team is now focused on Africa. This trip to Mali is an important step in the international tour of the Institute, which strives to communicate the 2009 MEDays recommendations to international political and economic decision makers. Younes Slaoui had the opportunity to address integration and regional cooperation, two of the Institutes strategic axes, with those senior officials from African states present at the forum. At the closing ceremony, Younes Slaoui expressed his admiration for the EMUWA (Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa). He stated that the EMUWA is younger than the Arab Maghreb Union, which is close to being obsolete and unable to create similar dynamics and integration.
The Amadeus Institute was honoured to join the SSA (Sub Saharan Africa) countries in celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of African independence. Younes Slaoui reminded the audience of the historical role of Morocco in the independence movement on the continent, in particular the Casablanca Conference of January 1961. That was when the late King Mohammed V gathered young independent countries and great separatist leaders of Africa in order to strengthen solidarity on the continent.
Participants of the Bamako Forum took advantage of this meeting to reflect on Africa’s half century of independence and the policies implemented to ensure the welfare of African peoples.
The Amadeus Institute’s Vice-President met many Malian and international personalities, including Mr. Ould-Abdallah, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, and he provided Mr. Ould-Abdallah a copy of the 2009 MEDays recommendations for Conflict Management in Africa. Bilateral relations between Mali and Morocco were also discussed with Malian officials.
The Bamako Forum Foundation is chaired by the Prime Minister of Mali, Modibo Sidibe, and is directed by Abdullah Coulibaly, the president of the High Management Studies Institute in Bamako. This 10th edition was held from February 16-20 February 2010 under the theme of food challenges.
The Amadeus Institute is considered a prescriber and observer of public policy in Morocco, Africa and the EMEA region. The Institute achieved this stature thanks to the MEDays Forum, and it has become a platform specialised in analysis and action from a Southern perspective.
