From 8th to 10th September 2022, the first edition of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF) will take place in Saïdia (Morocco), in the Oriental region. Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this Forum is organised by United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) (www.UCLGA.org), in collaboration with the Association of Moroccan Regions (ARM), the Council of the Oriental Region (CRO) and the Directorate General of Territorial Collectivities (DGCT) of the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Morocco.

This gathering, which theme is "The contribution of Regional Governments to the sustainable development and to the dynamics of integration of Africa", is a concrete implementation of the decisions taken by the General Assembly of UCLG Africa during the 8th edition of the Africities Summit, held in Marrakech in November 2018, as stated by Mrs. Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of UCLG Africa.

This Forum will bring together for the first time the presidents of regions, counties and federal states of more than 20 African countries that have a second level of decentralised territorial government, including Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, etc. More than 400 participants are expected to attend this event.

This first edition will be an opportunity to discuss the role of regional governments in the definition and implementation of development and integration strategies. It will highlight several themes that are at the heart of the missions of regional governments, including the economic, social and cultural development of territories; equipment, attractiveness and competitiveness of territories; adaptation to climate change, sustainability and resilience of territories; the contribution of territories to the achievement of sustainable development objectives, the achievement of the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the implementation of the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, cooperation between African regions to strengthen the dynamics of integration of Africa.

The FORAF will be the platform for the organisation and constitution of the elective General Assembly as the governing body within UCLG Africa. It is therefore expected that in the Forum, the members of this entity will be nominated and the chairperson elected on the 9^th September 2022. The latter will represent the African continent at the World Forum of Regions of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), which governing bodies will be renewed at the UCLG World Congress to be held in Daejon, South Korea, from 10th to 14th October 2022.

According to Mrs. Abdel Malick, President of UCLG Africa, "the launch of FORAF is an important step in the integration process of Africa, a big step towards the emergence of the Africa of People".