APSACO 7th Edition - مناقشة التقرير السنوي حول الجغرافيا السياسية لأفريقيا / ملاحظات ختامية

July 11, 2023

Chair: Mehdi Benomar, Head – Research in International Relations, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers:
- Jamal Machrouh, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South
- Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South
- Sâ Benjamin Traoré, Assistant Professor, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
- Hind Zaamoun, PHD Student, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University

Discussants:
- Guido Lanfranchi, Research Fellow, Clingendael
- Mahamadou N’fa Simpara, PHD Student, FSJES, Rabat

Closing Remarks:
- Karim El Aynaoui, Executive President, Policy Center for the New South

Speakers
Nezha Alaoui M’hammdi
Senior Fellow
Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’Hammdi is Senior Fellow at Policy Center for the New South (since 2020) and the current Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to Ethiopia and Djibouti since 2016. She has served as first Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco after its return to the African Union by 2017, and to the Peace and Security Council of the AU (April 2018). She is currently Dean of the Council of Arab League Ambassadors to Ethiopia She also served from 2013 to 2016 as an Ambassador of Morocco to Ghana, Togo and Benin, being the first Moroccan female Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Africa. After joining the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Morocco in 1989, Mrs. Nezha Alaoui M’Hammdi served mainly in Italy and Ghana. During her assignment, from 2 ...
Mehdi Benomar
Head – Research in International Relations
Mehdi Benomar has cumulated 18 years of experience as analyst and occupied several positions in public organizations: in National Defense as head of division (2000-2008), in the cabinet of the ministry of Mines and Energy (2010-12) and in OCP Group (2012-2017). He also served as senior consultant in private firm Global Intelligence Partners (G.I.P.) (2008-2010) in Rabat. He specialized in strategic monitoring issues and contributed on different topics related to proliferation, energy and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Nuclear Engineer, he graduated from the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives and has a master in sciences. ...
Karim El Aynaoui
Executive President
Karim El Aynaoui is Executive President of the Policy Center for the New South. He is also Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster.   Karim El Aynaoui is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics, and International Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an Economist for its regional units of the Middle East and North Africa and Africa.   Karim El Aynaoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countr ...
Guido Lanfranchi
Research Fellow, Clingendael
Guido Lanfranchi is a research fellow at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit (CRU). He contributes to CRU’s Horn of Africa programme, focusing on Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Guido’s research interests revolve around the interplay between economic, political and security dynamics, with a focus on how economic interests and business elites shape governance arrangements and conflict patterns. Guido also conducts research on geopolitical dynamics in the Horn of Africa, including the engagement of various foreign powers (Russia, China, Arab Gulf states, etc.). Guido holds a master’s degree in International Security from SciencesPo Paris and a bachelor's degree in International Studies from Leiden University. Prior to joining Clingendael, he interned at the Council of the EU, whe ...
Jamal Machrouh
Senior Fellow
Jamal Machrouh is Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South where he focuses on Geopolitics and International Relations issues, as well as Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). He is also professor of international relations at the National School of Business and Management, Ibn Toufaïl University, Kénitra. Mr. Machrouh is lecturer at the Royal College of Advanced Military Studies of Kénitra and at Södertörn University of Stockholm, Sweden. He is the author of a book titled Justice and Development under World Trade Organization and of various articles dealing with international relations and geopolitics. ...
Sâ Benjamin Traoré
Professor of Law, Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (FGSES-UM6P)
Professor Traoré holds a Doctorate in Law from the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), an LLM in International Law from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and a Master in Public Law from the University from Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Prior to joining UM6P, Prof Traoré worked as the Project Manager for the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA). His work and research focused on the role of law in regulating business-related human rights and environmental impacts in Africa, traditional fields of international law and international relations, peace and security in Africa, human rights, international humanitarian law as well as the law related to refugees and internally displaced persons. He has published many academic articles ...
Hind Zaamoun
PhD Student, Mohamed VI Polytechnic University
Mrs. Hind Zaamoun is a PhD student at Mohamed VI Polytechnic University. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from University of Turin (Italy). She previously held the position of research assistant at the UM6P. Her current PhD project explores the impact of the geopolitical dynamics on peacebuilding implementation in the context of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her area of interest include: conflict resolution, post-conflict transitions, peacebuilding and DDR processes. ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    April 24, 2024
    The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), created on September 16, 2023, brings together Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso under a mutual defense agreement. The signing of the charter relating to this alliance, which bears the name Liptako-Gourma, was followed by meetings and plans for initiatives that will push the new structure further towards statutes for the alliance, transforming it into a confederation. As an intermediate measure, the three states have already envisaged the creation of ...
  • Authors
    March 22, 2024
    L’Alliance des États du Sahel (AES), créée le 16 septembre 2023, rassemble dans un accord de défense mutuelle le Mali, le Niger et le Burkina Faso. La signature de la charte afférente à cette alliance qui porte le nom du Liptako-Gourma a été suivie de rencontre et de projets d’initiatives qui poussent plus loin la nouvelle structure vers des statuts de l’alliance pour la transformer en confédération. Comme mesure intermédiaire, les trois États ont d’ores et déjà envisa ...
  • Authors
    February 16, 2024
    The destruction of a vibrant and historic nation, sprinkled with color and culture, turned into a footnote of geopolitics. The more than 377,000 war victims disappeared from global headlines. The official fighting ended in Yemen on March 29, 2022. A ceasefire was declared by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the rebellious Houthis. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, praised “the wave of reconciliation” that swept across the region. The main foreign supporter of Yemen’s Houthi—Iran— ...
  • Authors
    November 28, 2023
    In the space of one day in late July 2023, the fate of Mohamed Bazoum, 63, changed completely; the comfort of his palace was replaced by a small dark room. The occupant was reduced from president of the 27 million-strong nation of Niger to criminal, facing charges of high treason and undermining the security of the nation (Reuters, August 14, 2023). His accusers were a military junta, led by the commander of the Presidential Guard, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, now self-imposed Pre ...
  • November 2, 2023
    Réflexions sur le leadership, la paix et la sécurité en Afrique Dans cette interview exclusive, nous avons eu l'honneur de discuter avec Son Excellence Madame Catherine Samba-Panza, l'ancienne présidente de la République centrafricaine et une figure emblématique de la politique africai...
  • Authors
    Pascal Chaigneau
    Nihal Aïcha El Mquirmi
    Jacques Gravereau
    Sonia Le Gouriellec
    Philippe Migaux
    Agnès Mikita
    Alain Oudot de Dainville
    Olivier Tramond
    Sâ Benjamin Traoré
    October 26, 2023
    Les Dialogues Stratégiques, une collaboration entre HEC Center for Geopolitics et Policy Center fort he New South, représentent une plateforme d'analyse et d'échange biannuelle réunissant des experts, des praticiens, des décideurs politiques, ainsi que el monde universitaire et les médias au service d'une réflexion critique et approfondie sur les tendances politiques mondiales et sur une problématique d'intérêt régional, d'importance commune à al fois pour l'Europe et l'Afrique. Ce ...
  • Authors
    Pierre Jacquemot
    October 13, 2023
    La dernière série de coups d’État en Afrique subsaharienne cache-t-elle un spectaculaire retournement contre les processus politiques fondés sur le principe électoral qui avaient été engagés dans les années 1990 ? Pour sept pays concernés (Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinée, Mali, Niger, Soudan, Tchad), la prise du pouvoir par les militaires signe la fin d’un cycle, celui de la tentative de démocratisation par l’élection, et l’entrée dans un nouveau cycle, à l’issue inconnue ...
  • Authors
    General Rapporteur
    October 2, 2023
    The Policy Center for the New South organized the 7th African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) on July 10-11, 2023, under the theme ‘Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa’. This annual conference provides a platform for the analysis of Africa’s peace and security structures and institutions, focusing on the continent’s assets, history, and its ability to overcome current and emerging challenges and gain global competitive advantage. The debate on post-conflict reconst ...
  • Authors
    General Rapporteur
    October 2, 2023
    La septième édition de la Conférence africaine sur la paix et la sécurité (APSACO) s’est déroulée sur deux journées enrichissantes, les 10 et 11 juillet 2023. La conférence, organisée par le Policy Center for the New South, a rassemblé une pléiade d’experts du monde entier, représentant divers secteurs d’activité, sur le thème “Reconstruction post-conflit en Afrique”. Elle s’articulait autour de 6 panels ainsi que d’une discussion autour du Rapport annuel sur la géop ...