The first Morocco–Mauritania Parliamentary Economic Forum convened in Nouakchott on 9-10 May 2025, gathering more than two hundred legislators, cabinet ministers, private-sector leaders and policy specialists from both countries. Conceived as a standing instrument of parliamentary diplomacy, the forum is expected to institutionalise bilateral co-operation, provide legislative backing for joint economic projects and generate a framework resilient to the shocks of Sahelian geopolitics and climate stress. Delegates adopted a communiqué that identifies four priority clusters—food security, the blue economy, vocational training and investment facilitation—while endorsing a 24-point monitoring matrix to track implementation. External observers from the European Union, the Gulf states and the African Union hailed the initiative as a potential model of South–South integration, albeit one whose success will depend on legal harmonisation, environmental safeguards and careful navigation of the Western Sahara dispute. What follows is a comprehensive analysis of the forum’s origins, substance and strategic implications for a readership of diplomats and senior policy-makers.
Parliamentary Diplomacy in a Fragmented Neighbourhood
The Maghreb–Sahel interface is widely regarded as one of the world’s most discontinuous strategic spaces, a zone where deterritorialised threats—violent extremism, irregular migration and climate-induced insecurity—intersect with entrenched geopolitical rivalries. In this context, the emergence of parliamentary diplomacy—structured, cross-border engagement among elected legislatures—as a complementary vector to traditional foreign ministries merits close scrutiny. The Nouakchott forum exemplifies this trend by mobilising parliamentarians to accompany, and in some cases anticipate, executive-branch agendas. By framing co-operation in legislative rather than purely diplomatic terms, the two states aim to bind future governments to a consensual roadmap whose legitimacy is anchored in representative institutions.
Historical Trajectories: From Ambiguous Frontiers to Pragmatic Engagement
While Morocco gained independence in 1956 and Mauritania in 1960, the bilateral relationship was moulded earlier by the colonial cartography of France and Spain. Tensions peaked after Spain’s withdrawal from Western Sahara in 1975, when Mauritania briefly annexed the territory’s southern third before withdrawing under military pressure and economic strain. A decade of mutual suspicion ensued. The rapprochement began in the mid-1990s, was consolidated by Mauritania’s 1999 decision to restore full diplomatic relations with Morocco and was deepened by Rabat’s increasing economic presence in Nouakchott throughout the 2010s. The latest phase—marked by the July 2022 joint communiqué that conceptualised a permanent parliamentary forum—signals a qualitative shift from episodic goodwill to an attempt at institutional permanence.
Genesis of the Forum
The July 2022 understanding was formalised during Speaker Rachid Talbi Alami’s visit to Nouakchott, where both assemblies declared their intention to “create an integrated mechanism to accompany governmental programmes”. Technical working groups met in Rabat in January 2023 and again in Nouakchott in September 2023, agreeing that annual sessions would alternate between the two capitals and revolve around four thematic clusters: food security, blue economy, vocational training and investment climate. Mauritanian deputies viewed the mechanism as a counter-cyclical guarantee against policy discontinuity, while Moroccan parliamentarians emphasised its potential to anchor Rabat’s Atlantic Africa doctrine.
Highlights of the Nouakchott Session
The opening ceremony on 9 May 2025 convened at the Palais des Congrès under the joint chairmanship of Talbi Alami and Mohamed Bamba Meguett. High-profile attendees included Morocco’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Omar Hejira, who proposed a bespoke “advanced partnership accord”, and Mauritanian Budget Minister Kodiyouro Moussa N’Guenore, who called for symmetrical development benefits.
Panel discussions prioritised the reduction of non-tariff barriers, digitisation of customs at Guerguerat and Rosso, and the creation of a harmonised sanitary-and-phytosanitary framework. The adopted communiqué established a 24-point monitoring matrix and mandated biennial joint reports to both chambers.
Economic Dimensions: Complementarities, Asymmetries and New Frontiers
Bilateral trade reached roughly USD 730 million in 2024, with Moroccan exports—processed foods, textiles, fertilisers and construction materials—outweighing Mauritanian iron ore, livestock and fisheries by a ratio of three to one. To recalibrate this imbalance, the Moroccan Agency for International Co-operation announced a USD 150 million credit line with Banque Mauritanienne pour le Commerce International, earmarked for Mauritanian SMEs sourcing inputs from Moroccan suppliers. Concurrently, Mauritania’s sovereign wealth fund signalled readiness to inject equity into Moroccan blue-economy start-ups incubated in Dakhla. The maritime sphere offers additional synergies: Morocco’s mature port network and processing capacity intersect with Mauritania’s under-used continental shelf. Discussions also explored integrating Mauritania’s emergent green-hydrogen projects at Tijirit and Boulenouar with Morocco’s export-oriented hydrogen strategy centred on Jorf Lasfar.
Strategic Implications: Atlantic Initiative, Regional Diplomacy and Security Externalities
For Rabat, the forum reinforces its Atlantic Africa doctrine—articulated by King Mohammed VI in 2023—by positioning Morocco as a maritime gateway for Sahelian states. For Nouakchott, the partnership provides economic diversification, access to capital and diplomatic ballast vis-à-vis an increasingly volatile Sahelian environment. Security co-operation, while couched in diplomatic language, was omnipresent. Delegates endorsed joint border-surveillance initiatives using Moroccan UAV technology and agreed to co-ordinate positions within the G5-Sahel, where Mauritania remains a pivotal—if increasingly solitary—member following the withdrawals of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Challenges and Caveats
Notwithstanding its promise, the forum confronts intractable hurdles. The unresolved status of Western Sahara casts a long shadow; sections of Mauritanian civil society remain sympathetic to the Polisario Front, and any perception that deeper economic intimacy implies alignment with Morocco’s autonomy proposal could provoke domestic backlash. Legal asymmetries also loom large: Morocco’s commercial-law corpus is broadly aligned with European standards, whereas Mauritania grapples with antiquated codes and limited judicial capacity. Environmental fragility is a third concern; both states inhabit the frontline of climate change, with desertification encroaching upon Mauritanian pastoral zones and Morocco experiencing its driest five-year period since records began. The communiqué’s creation of a cross-party Green Observatory—tasked with evaluating ecological impacts—will be an early test of the forum’s credibility.
Institutional Architectures and Symmetry
Institutional symmetry emerged as a recurrent theme. Morocco’s bicameral legislature—House of Representatives and House of Councillors—contrasts with Mauritania’s unicameral National Assembly. To mitigate disparities the forum adopted a ‘two-by-two’ rule for its steering bureau, granting equal seats to members of each Moroccan chamber and to Mauritanian deputies. The mechanism is intended to pre-empt accusations of numerical domination and ensure deliberative balance.
Harmonising Commercial Dispute Resolution
A less publicised yet consequential agenda concerns dispute resolution. Moroccan courts, reformed through the 2011 constitution, now recognise electronic evidence and host specialised commercial chambers; Mauritania is at an earlier stage of judicial modernisation. The forum’s legal-affairs track therefore proposed a three-year roadmap towards mutual recognition of arbitral awards, modelled on the UNCITRAL system, and funded training placements for Mauritanian magistrates in Casablanca’s Commercial Court of Appeal.
Human Capital and Skills Mobility
Economies ultimately depend on human capital. Delegates endorsed a scholarship scheme allowing Mauritanian students to enrol at Moroccan maritime institutes, while Morocco’s vocational-training agency (OFPPT) plans to establish a Nouakchott campus specialising in agritech and cold-chain logistics. These initiatives seek to address the paradox of youth unemployment amid labour-market skill shortages.
Connectivity Corridors
Geographical proximity belies logistical constraints: the Guerguerat–Ras Nouadhibou coastal crossing is the sole paved land link and endures freight queues stretching sixteen kilometres during peak tomato-export season, incurring spoilage costs of USD 4 million annually. Morocco’s National Office of Highways presented a feasibility study for a dual-carriageway expansion to be financed through an Emirati-backed public-private partnership, while Mauritania’s Port Authority tabled plans for a dry port at Boutilimit to capture transit traffic.
Interplay with Continental Frameworks
Both states have ratified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), yet implementation is uneven. Speakers urged that bilateral accords focus on “beyond-border” issues—standards, competition policy and digital-trade facilitation—rather than replicating tariff preferences already available under AfCFTA. A joint observatory will track alignment with continental disciplines, fostering transparency and avoiding regulatory fragmentation.
Blue-Economy Diplomacy
Sustainable fisheries management is critical: Mauritania’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive zone is among the world’s richest, while Morocco boasts advanced aquaculture capacity. The legislatures agreed to co-sponsor an Atlantic Blue Parliamentarians’ Caucus within the Pan-African Parliament, advocating a regional moratorium on industrial pelagic trawling during spawning seasons and pledging to transpose the FAO Port State Measures Agreement into domestic law.
Soft-Power Intersections
Cultural diplomacy featured as a soft-power adhesive. Morocco’s Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture offered to digitise Mauritanian Hassaniya manuscripts, while Nouakchott’s National Conservatory proposed a Saharan music festival rotating between Chinguetti and Essaouira. Such initiatives mitigate the risk that stalled economic deliverables erode popular support for the partnership.
External Stakeholders
European Union observers treated the forum as a litmus test for the Global Gateway strategy, which pledges EUR 150 billion in African infrastructure investment. Gulf sovereign funds explored opportunities in hydrogen, while United States diplomats noted the alignment with Washington’s Build Africa Resilience initiative. The multiplicity of stakeholders enhances resource mobilisation but also introduces the risk of agenda overload.
Metrics and Monitoring
A 24-point Monitoring and Evaluation matrix sets quantifiable targets: reducing border-clearance times from seventeen to six hours by 2027; increasing Mauritania’s share of Moroccan import licences from 5.8 to ten per cent; establishing four joint academic programmes; and cutting illegal fishing incidents by twenty per cent through co-ordinated coast-guard patrols. The interim secretariat, headquartered in Nouakchott, will release semi-annual scorecards to both chambers.
Gender and Inclusive-Growth Dimensions
Women constitute forty-three per cent of Mauritania’s agricultural workforce but control less than twelve per cent of land titles; in Morocco women-owned firms comprise under fourteen per cent of registered exporters. A side-event chaired by Mauritanian MP Khadijetou Mint Saleck produced a joint statement urging preferential finance for female-led SMEs and legislation against discriminatory inheritance practices.
Digital Transformation and Cyber-resilience
Both states aspire to become regional data hubs—Morocco through quantum-computing projects at Ben Guerir, Mauritania via the 2Africa submarine-cable landing. Yet cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure have surged. Law-makers mooted mutual-assistance clauses for cyber-incidents, echoing NATO’s Article 5 in spirit, if not in scope.
The Road Ahead
Milestones loom: publication of the first monitoring dashboard in September 2025, parliamentary ratification of the scholarship fund in November 2025 and the launch of a pilot e-customs portal in January 2026. Each deliverable will test whether the forum can evolve from a symbolic overture into an operational engine of integration.
The Nouakchott forum transcends ceremonial diplomacy. It represents a calculated gamble that parliamentary agency can anchor a new generation of South-South co-operation, triangulating economic, security and cultural objectives across the Maghreb–Sahel-Atlantic nexus. Success will depend on vigilant diplomacy, legal harmonisation and environmental stewardship. Yet at a moment when the Sahel is convulsed by coups and great-power competition, the deliberate choice of two neighbours with a turbulent history to institutionalise partnership through their elected assemblies offers a glimmer of strategic optimism.
