Organized by the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences of Tangier (FSJEST), under the University Abdelmalek Essaâdi, in partnership with the Moroccan Journal of Local Administration and Development (REMALD), the Center for Social and Legal Studies of Southern Europe, and the Center Cifal Malaga, this two-day event is held under the theme “The territorial organization and the experience of regionalization in Morocco, Spain and Italy, cross-readings.”
Speaking on this occasion, the dean of the FSJEST, Taoufik Said, noted that this scientific event aims to discuss the issue of regionalization in its political, economic, developmental, democratic and social aspects.
This event aims to promote the exchange of ideas, experiences and best practices related to regionalization in some northern Mediterranean countries, such as Spain and Italy, he said.
For his part, REMALD director Ahmed Bouachik said that regionalization encompasses the management of local affairs, the aspirations of citizens, the development of the economy and the optimal use of the potential of the region.
Decentralized management has given the regions a strong impetus thanks to the farsighted vision of HM King Mohammed VI. It also enabled the southern provinces of the Kingdom to achieve a qualitative leap in the development process, he said.
Director of the center Cifal Malaga, Julio Andrade Ruiz, highlighted the progress achieved by Morocco in the field of democracy and management of local public affairs, as it has provided greater powers to the regions.
This approach, which is an example to follow, has provided the southern provinces with important management structures and the foundations for economic growth and development, he stated.
According to Andrade Ruiz the progress made by Morocco at several levels is due to the role played by the regions and the best use of available potential, while preserving the particularities of the urban, cultural and natural spaces.
This forum aims to enrich Morocco’s and Spain’s experience of regionalization and promote academic and scientific cooperation between the two countries with a view to consolidating their rapprochement at all levels, he said.
Participants in this meeting stressed that the close relationship between Morocco and Spain, embodied by this scientific forum, benefits both Europe and Africa and always gives hope for positive cooperation between the North and South.
They also emphasized the importance of this meeting in sharing data and experiences in terms of territorial organization and advanced regionalization.
This scientific event discusses several topics, including “The autonomy initiative in the Moroccan Sahara”; “Decentralization to the test of facts, a decade after the entry into force of the Constitution 2011”; “The transformation of the territorial organization of the state in Spain”; “The modernization of the structures of the Moroccan state”; “Regional autonomies in the jurisprudence of the Italian Constitutional Court” and “Territorial autonomies in the Italian constitutional system.”
The debates also focus on “The constitutional foundations of the autonomy plan of the Moroccan Sahara”; “Mechanisms of collaboration between the state and the regions in Spain”; “The region, a geostrategic actor for the Spanish-Moroccan decentralized cooperation” and “The regions with autonomy in the Italian constitutional system.”
