Youssef Cherif, a Maghreb-based political analyst, offered an overview of the impact of the coronavirus on the Maghreb during a video-conference organised this month by the IEMed.

According to Cherif, virus infections are advancing slowly and the cases detected are mostly from tourists, although he has stated that the Maghreb is the worst affected region in the Arab world. He was particularly concerned about the developments that could continue in Libya, a country at war where several outside actors try to secure their influence.

Cherif has explained the various consequences of the pandemic: stagnation in economic growth and a pernicious impact on employment, a reduction of Algerian and Libyan budget forecasts for 2020, the paralysis of tourism, especially in Morocco and Tunisia, countries that expected a growth in tourism this year due to increased security in the region.

The European Institute of the Mediterranean is a centre for discussion and debate which aims to encourage actions and projects contributing to mutual understanding, exchanges and cooperation between different Mediterranean countries, societies and cultures. At the same time, it seeks to promote the progressive building in the Mediterranean an area of peace and stability, of shared prosperity and dialogue between cultures and civilisations, whilst contributing to the core goals of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean.

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