On March, the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), in collaboration with the FAO office for North Africa, organized a high-level Maghreb political dialogue which presented the visions, strategic orientations and approaches adopted for the use of the potential of so-called unconventional water resources.

The Maghreb Dialogue was a result of the project ."Unblocking the Potential of Treated Wastewater and Drainage Water for Agricultural Development in the Arab Maghreb Countries". This project carried out diagnostic and state-of-the-art analyzes of this sector in the five countries. National policy dialogues in each country were ensured as well as cost-benefit analysis studies for the formulation of an investment plan.

At the end of the High-Level Dialogue, a Joint Ministerial Declaration of Cooperation affirmed the adhesion of countries to the Maghreb Initiative for non-Conventional Waters (IMENCO) launched on March 22, 2021. This proposed Initiative by FAO and the UMA, will strengthen Maghreb cooperation through the establishment of a permanent technical committee specialized in the field of non-conventional water within the UMA. It will create a Maghreb Pole of Excellence for the reuse of unconventional water based on the development and interconnection of pilot sites of excellence across the UMA region.

A Maghreb Collaborative Platform to capitalize on the experiences of the last decades, and to promote the exchange of good practices and the sharing of knowledge and research results will be created as a mechanism of the Maghreb Pole of Excellence for unconventional waters

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