Study On Morocco's Application Into ECOWAS

The purpose of this research is to analyze the institutional system of the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS)in order to study the conditions of membership of the Kingdom of Morocco to ECOWAS.Through the experience of regional co-operation groups,the West African states have shown great solidarity and community spirit in spite of their different colonial experiences as well as different legal and administrative systems.Since its creation on May 28,1975,the Treaty of Lagos has been composed of sixteen member states,namely:Benin,Burkina Faso,Cape Verde,Ivory Coast,The Gambia,Ghana,Guinea,Guinea Bissau,Liberia,Mali,Mauritania,Niger,Nigeria,Senegal and Togo.The number of States is now reduced to fifteen with the withdrawal of Mauritania in 2001.It should be pointed out that the ECOWAS Member States occupy an area of 5.1 million km or 17%of the total area of the Continent and with an estimated population of over 300 million.It is believed that since the creation of ECOWAS,more specifically the definition of its objectives,the West African States have been able to overcome their ideological differences in the way of thinking and achieving regional integration.The latest study of the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office,responsible for calculating external trade and balance of payments statistics,reveals an explosion of trade between Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa between 2008 and 2016.West Africa appears as a privileged partner of the kingdom.Between 2008 and 2016,the Kingdom of Morocco has achieved a surplus trade balance with sub-Saharan Africa,an average annual growth of 9.1%,from 1.3 billion dirhams(120 million euros)in 2008 to 11,9 billion dirhams in 2016.Morocco's exports to this zone have tripled since 2008,from DH 3.2 billion to DH 10.2 billion in 2016.Imports from this region are lower,with an annual average of 1.4 billion dirhams over the period.Morocco gained market share in the zone,from 0.5%in 2008 to 0.9%in 2015.West Africa is also the leading destination for Moroccan direct investment in sub-Saharan Africa,with an average of 64.7%over the last five years.According to Pan-African financial institutions,regional integration is one of the key development strategies of African countries.It is certainly in this perspective of African integration that Morocco although located north of the continent wishes to cross the Sahara to belong to the West African economic community.