Dakhla and Agadir among the 46 bays open to international cooperation and co-development

After the successful edition of Agadir 2004, the Association of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World confirmed, at the closing of the 18th edition organized in Dakhla, the prestigious position occupied by the Moroccan bays in the association, and congratulated the great contribution of the Dakhla Oued Eddahab region in the success of the event, thanks to the support of the president of the region Yanja Khattat, the president of the bay of Dakhla Mohammed Cherif and the efforts of the population in the preservation of the natural beauty of the area.

The president of the Association of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World, Louis Thébault, underlined the recommendations elaborated during the congress, which are summarized in the promotion of multilateral social, cultural, sporting, commercial and industrial exchanges between the populations of the bays, especially between young people and children (North-South and South-South).

Promoting sustainable development through the maintenance and improvement of the environmental conditions of the bays and encouraging the use of science for the realization of projects aimed at the preservation of biodiversity and the explosive sustainable economic and social development of the bays, are part of the goals of the club's work to be consolidated and constantly evaluated.

The Association: authentic reference and strong spokesperson for 46 member bays

The World's Most Beautiful Bays Association aspires to be, since its creation, an authentic reference for stakeholders and specialists of bays, environment and biodiversity and a strong spokesperson for 46 members of the association, which enjoys local, national and international recognition and which consolidates itself every day to contribute to appropriate decision making in this regard.

Louis Thébault urged to continue to reflect on the environmental challenges in their relationship with the bays; generating creative ideas and discussing the ambitions of the Association at the global level; with full respect for the principles of the Charter of the Bays adopted in Cambodia in 2022.

From the city of Dakhla, the Association renewed its commitment to prioritize the following development axes:

• Strengthening communication between each member bay and the governance of the organization; favoring mobilizing projects such as the clean beaches operation, the exhibition of photos of the most beautiful berries in the world, among others.
• Consolidate the role of the Association on the international scene; increasing its participation in forums of common interest on a global scale. 
• To raise awareness of its international status by encouraging the development of financial partnerships with international public and private organizations whose objectives are compatible with the club's vision. 
• Contribute to promoting North-South and South-South cooperation based on solidarity and joint action; by providing each Congress, starting with the next Canada 2025 Congress, with the opportunity to evaluate the progress made and to reinforce the bays' commitment and their compliance with the objectives of the 2022 charter.

In the same vein, the president of the Association signed, together with the youth committee, the mission statement to formalize this commitment of young people to the service of the bays and the protection of the environment.

The youth committee of the World's Most Beautiful Bays association had launched a video contest, in which several bays of the world participated, and announced the three winners on the second day of the congress.

The Bay of Dakhla was the winner of the Video Contest 2024; so that the first position went to the young participant Aladdin (1000 euros) who dealt with the theme of dolphins in the Bay of Dakhla, while the third position went to his compatriot Kamal, from the same bay (250 euros).

The Dakhla region: an important co-development option

The Kingdom of Morocco has always adopted a policy of openness to the world and has established multidimensional international relations that have been consolidated over the last two decades, thanks to the strategic vision of King Mohammed VI.

Within the framework of this national dynamic, the Dakhla Oued Eddahab region has developed fruitful and diversified partnerships; which made it a real co-development option on an international scale, particularly in the Sahel region; thanks to Morocco's Atlantic initiative to favor the access of Sahelian countries to the Atlantic Ocean.

During the workshops that took place on the second day of the World's Most Beautiful Bays Congress, the bay of Dakhla was also highlighted as an ecosystem rich in terms of biodiversity that enjoys spectacular natural resources representing the assured refuge of:

• More than 120 species of mollusks
• Marine mammals such as dolphins.
• More than 100 species of fish.
• More than 80 species of aquatic birds.
• A flora rich in 18 taxa endemic to local, national and regional scale.
• Large presence of Zooplankton with a predominance of copepods.
• More than 100 species of Phytoplankton. 
• 40 species of crustaceans.

The bay of Dakhla is distinguished by three main sectors:

• Fishing which plays an important role in the economy of the rural coastal communities, with a fishing port and an artisanal fishing village.
• Aquaculture with the first oyster farms (White Dune and then Boutalha) launched in 2003.
• Tourism which has seen accelerated progress over the last 20 years, with exponential growth in infrastructure: 45 classified establishments and 2,300 beds in 2023 compared to 5 establishments and 621 beds in 2012 and 44,000 visitors in 2023 compared to 38,700 in 2019 and 5,231 in 2006.

This development is due to the following factors:

• Ease of investment procedures.
• Major infrastructures: (Dakhla airport) and the launching of the Atlantic port. 
• Improved roads and access to the region and its openness to the world.
• Presence of hotels of all calibers to welcome all categories of visitors.
• Dakhla, the capital of water and board sports and one of the world's leading venues for congresses, forums and cultural festivals.

The Bay of Agadir: openness to the international scene and decentralized cooperation

The Bay of Agadir represents the Sus Massa region in southern Morocco, which has demonstrated its openness to the international scene and decentralized cooperation with local and foreign communities in the framework of an advanced regionalization that seeks sustainable development and prosperity on an equal footing among the twelve regions of the Kingdom. 

In the workshop on North-South and South-South Cooperation, during the congress of the most beautiful bays in the world, the region has highlighted its strong international cooperation through conventions and agreements signed by Sus Massa with northern and southern countries and international organizations.

This cooperation is based on various fields of common interest such as economic development, vocational training, education, university cooperation, environment, water resources management, tourism, agriculture, maritime fisheries, spatial planning, air transport, cosmetic industry, investment promotion, support for the territorialization of public policies, migration policy, employment promotion, culture and heritage.

With the aim of developing dialogue, sharing knowledge and exchanging experiences and skills, contributing to a shared economic, social and sustainable development, multiple agreements have been signed with regions of European, Asian, African countries and international organizations such as:

• The new framework cooperation agreement with the New Aquitaine Region. 
• The cooperation with the government of the Canary Islands since 2008.
• The cooperation agreement with the People's Republic of China launched since 2017.
• The agreement with the Province of West Java since 2017.
• The signing of the framework cooperation agreement with Côte d'Ivoire in 2021.
• The signing of the first agreement with the Fatick Department of Senegal in 2006.
• The Signing of the cooperation framework agreement with the Brakna region of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in 2022.
• The Framework Cooperation Agreement with the Belgian Development Agency in 2022.
• The DOPEMI Project: Deployment of migration policies in 2021.
• Cooperation with Expertise France 2021 
• Cooperation with the European Union, through the French Development Agency AFD.
• German cooperation through the Soder Project for decentralized solutions for regional development projects.
• The adhesion of the region to Oru Fogar and participation in the World Forum of Regional Governments and Associations of Regions in 2021; as well as to the International Association of Francophone Regions (AIRF) in 2005 and to the Global Forum of Social and Solidarity Economy in 2024.