IV.8 - Co-operation
The Union developed relationships to the near total of the
Institutions of international fame and interafricaines.
The UEMOA maintains a very profitable co-operation with the
European Union.
As of the signature of the Agreement of Cotonou in June 2000, the
Commission of the UEMOA has
expressly received mandate of the Council of Ministers in July
2000, to open and lead
negotiations with the Commission of the European Union, for the
conclusion
of an Economic Agreement of Partnership (APE) between the UEMOA
and the European Union
Thus a Convention of financing, of an amount of 9,5 billion F
CFA, signed on November 14, 1996 was carried out until the end of the year
1999, within the framework of the Program of Regional Support to Integration,
BET 1.
A new Convention of financing, of a total amount of 52,5 billion
F CFA, was signed on March 24, 2000.
This convention, called BET 2, comprises two shutters; the first,
is a support at the Institutions of the Union and the Member States; the second
is a support with the development and the insertion of the sector deprived in
the process of integration.
In addition to the Area code Program (PIR), 9th EDF, which
rises to 235 million euros over the period 2003-2007, exclusively intended for
the UEMOA ; the European Union will devote more than 154 billion F CFA to
the regional co-operation with West Africa between 2003 and 2006, by the
channel of the two principal organizations which are the UEMOA (Union monetary
and economic of West Africa) which gathers the French-speaking countries of the
ex-zone CFA and of which the process of integration is already extremely
advanced, and the CEDEAO (the economic Community of the States of West Africa)
which includes the countries of the UEMOA and constitutes, by its Treaty,
institution of reference as regards integration.
For this purpose, the European Commission adopted a document of
strategy of co-operation and indicative program between the EU and the area.
The strategy suggested is to support the long-term convergence of the two
processes of integration :
· To consolidate the Customs union and to reinforce
the Common Market to the level of the UEMOA,
· To create the Customs union of CEDEAO and to
reinforce the capacities of its executive secretariat, by taking account of the
assets of the one and the other of the institutions.
The UEMOA developed an active co-operation with the Economic
Community of the States of West Africa (CEDEAO), the Standing Committee
Inter-States of Fight against the Dryness in the Sahel (CILSS), the Economic
and Monetary Community of Africa Centrale (CEMAC), with which it manages the
IZF.net site within the framework of the promotion of the investments in the
Free zone, the Common Organization of Co-operation Against Great
Endémies (OCCGE), the Organization for the Harmonization of laws of the
Businesses in Africa (OHADA), the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the
African Bank of Development (BAD) and the Economic Commission of the United
Nations for Africa (ECA).
It since 2001 developed its co-operation with the Organization of
the United Nations for the Food and Agriculture (FAO), the Islamic Bank of
Development (BID), the Funds International for the Agricultural Development
(FIDA), the International Organization of the Francophonie, the World Bank and
the International Monetary International Monetary Funds.
The UEMOA strengthened its co-operation, on the bilateral level,
with the United States of America, through the signature of an Agreement on the
development of the Trade and the Investments and with France, thanks to the
signature of a convention of financing within the framework of the Priority
Mutual aid funds (FSP).
In accordance with the provisions of article 84 of the Treaty
of the UEMOA, the Commission has
competence to negotiate and conclude the trade agreements with
third countries. In it
tally, during the year 2003, the provisions were taken to carry
out mandates
given by the Council of Ministers to the Commission during
previous years, for
to negotiate and conclude from the trade agreements and
investment, in particular with Morocco
and Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Lebanon.
Within the framework of the support of the World Bank to
the achievement of the objectives of the UEMOA, it
Board of directors of the Institutional Development funds (FDI)
granted
union a subsidy of an amount of 300.000 US dollars, in order to
set up one
device of commercial monitoring in the UEMOA.
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