Maghreb Union

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU; French: Union du Maghreb Arabe, UMA; Arabic: Ittiḥād al-Maghrib al-ʿArabī) was created by the Treaty of Marrakesh, signed on 17 February 1989 by the heads of state of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Its founding objectives, as set out in the treaty, include strengthening fraternal ties among member states and peoples, achieving progress and prosperity, defending member rights, pursuing a common policy in various domains, and working gradually toward the free movement of persons, services, goods, and capital.

The Union's institutional architecture includes a Presidential Council composed of the five heads of state (the sole body empowered to take decisions, by unanimity), a Council of Foreign Ministers, a Consultative Council, a Judicial Body, and a General Secretariat headquartered in Rabat, Morocco.

In practice, the AMU is widely regarded as one of the least effective regional organizations in the world. The Presidential Council has not convened since 1994. Integration has been paralyzed primarily by the dispute over Western Sahara, which pits Morocco against Algeria and the Polisario Front, and by the closure of the Algeria–Morocco land border since 1994. Libya's post-2011 instability and Mauritania's geographic and political orientation toward the Sahel have further weakened cohesion.

Intra-Maghreb trade remains among the lowest of any regional grouping globally—typically estimated at under 5% of members' total trade. The African Development Bank and World Bank have repeatedly cited the "cost of the non-Maghreb" in lost GDP growth.

Alternative or overlapping frameworks have emerged, including the 5+5 Dialogue with southern European states, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), and the African Union's continental free trade initiatives. In August 2021, Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Morocco, further freezing prospects for AMU revival.