This practical guide, published by the secretariat of the Sahel and West Africa Club, has been produced with assistance from the MOT. It offers many insights on the legislative and financial levers for developing cross-border initiatives on resilience to climate change in West Africa.
A report on border cities in West Africa has just been published in the OECD’s series "West Africa Papers" on the Sahel and West Africa. Made up of four papers, the "cities" collection is the fruit of systematic analysis of the role played by border cities in the regional integration process in West Africa.
At once a Caribbean island, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic and an Outermost Region (OR) of the European Union, the Collectivity of Saint Martin has resolutely placed regional integration at the heart of its development strategy.
The characteristics, both geographic and political, of our territory justify the necessity for strengthened cooperation. The Collectivity of Saint Martin’s ambition is that, through strengthened regional cooperation, our territories become examples in the sectors where they possess “added value”, in developing, for example, infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) notably in terms of the circular economy, the blue economy, sustainable agriculture, renewable energies, digital technologies, and earthquake-resistant and hurricane-resistant materials...
On 22-26 October, the MOT coordinated and accompanied the study visit of a delegation made up of representatives of ministries and local authorities from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The magazine Raisonnance of the International Association of Francophone Mayors has published an article by Olivier Denert, the MOT's Secretary General, entitled "Le transfrontalier en Europe : un cas particulier du développement territorial et porteur de bonnes pratiques sur d'autres continents" ("Cross-border co-operation in Europe: a particular instance of territorial development and a vector of good practices in other continents").
The situation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic is unique in the world: it is the only case in which the entire land area of two states is located on a single shared island. In 2016 and 2017, the MOT was commissioned to develop cross-border cooperation on this atypical border.
The international research network “Borders in Globalization” (BIG) held its second international conference in Ottawa between 6 and 8 December 2017. The programme is an opportunity for dialogue between different regions of the world (Europe, North America, Africa) on the theme of border management.
In light of the elaboration of a new European strategy for the “outermost regions” (ORs), the Regional Development Commission of the European Parliament published a report in March 2017 to promote cohesion and development in the ORs by applying article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in an innovative and positive manner.
Long seen as artificial barriers inherited from decolonisation, West African borders now lie at the heart of policies designed to encourage regional trade and combat political instability.
The MOT made a contribution in Brazzaville at a conference of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), in a workshop on regional cooperation among Central African local authorities.
On 30-31 March 2017, before more than 500 participants, the Presidents of the outermost regions (ORs) submitted to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, a memorandum urging for better account to be taken of their specificities in European policies through a "New Strategy for the ORs".
The “law relating to external action of territorial authorities and to the cooperation of overseas territories in their regional environment” was adopted on 5 December 2016.
This publication examines how policy actors involved in cross-border co-operation contribute to the regional integration process in West Africa.
The "ACTS" project* was launched in February 2015 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development.** It is a Priority Solidarity Fund project financed by France. It aims to help Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso preserve their sovereignty through better management of border regions with respect to security and local development.
At the request of the Haitian authorities, the French Embassy has mobilised the expertise of the MOT in a planning mission for a programme supporting the governance of Haitian local authorities located in the area bordering the Dominican Republic.
The MOT, in partnership with the UNCDF, organised a workshop on 14 October at the 2015 session of the OPEN DAYS in Brussels. This brought together over 250 people to address the topic "Cross-border co-operation and regional integration, a worldwide approach".
This Sahel cross-border cooperation support project of the priority solidarity fund financed by France aims to set up an integrated management strategy for the border areas between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, through coordinated instruments in the areas of security and development aid.
Organised by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and by the IPCC*, and taking place from 9 to 11 February 2015 in Jerusalem, a workshop entitled “Between the Jordan and the Mediterranean: 2050 strategic plan” brought together some twenty Israeli, Palestinian and European experts - including the MOT, the AEBR, the Eurométropole Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai and the PEACE programme in Ireland - on the issues of cross-border cooperation in the Israel-Palestine region.
“Build bridges between the States through the construction of development programmes that are going to join together the communities on either side of physical borders” was the objective of the conference on cross-border cooperation which took place on 17 to 19 December 2013 in Dakar, Senegal, under the aegis of the UEMOA1, attended by Aminata Touré, prime minister of Senegal, ministers from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, representatives of Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, the African Union and the ECOWAS, and many local elected representatives and experts.
