The Mediterranean Games-2022 will be held in Oran from June 25 to July 05, 2022 – a great honor for Algeria on the eve of Independence Day. A total of 26 countries will participate in this edition of the Mediterranean Games: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, France, Greece, Italy , Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, North Macedonia, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
A long Mediterranean history
Oran (in Arabic Wahrâan), nicknamed ´´the radiant´´ (in Arabic El-Bahia), is a port city in the Mediterranean, in the north-west of Algeria, and the capital of the wilaya of the same name. , bordering the Gulf of Oran, located 432 km west of the capital Algiers. Many historians recall that the name ´´Wahran´´ (Oran) comes from the Arabic word ´´wahr´´ (lion) and its dual (two) Wahran (two lions). The legend says that at the time (around the year 900), there were still lions on the mountain near Oran and which, moreover, is called ´´the Mountain of the lions´´. There are two large statues in front of the town hall of Oran symbolizing the two lions in question. Oran would have been created in 902 by Andalusian sailors and has known different occupations. Hence the conflicts between the Umayyads of Spain and the Fatimids of Kairouan. In 1016, the city became Umayyad, and in 1081, it was the advent of the Almoravid Empire. With the beginning of the 13th century, it is the constitution of the kingdoms of the East and of Tlemcen on the body of the Almohad Empire, while in Morocco, the Merinids begin to take ground on the authority of the Empire. The Ziyanide kingdom of Tlemcen, of which Oran and its province are part, is then caught between the Hafcids of the East and the Merinids of the West. The Mérinides go, at a certain moment, until proposing peace with Tlemcen on the condition of continuing to keep Oran. Throughout this period also, the city of Oran will be, in turn and several times in a row, Ziyanid, Merinid, Hafcid. The first Marinid siege of Oran took place in 1296, and the last attempt by the kings of the West to retake Oran took place in 1368 under the Ziyanid king, Abu Hammou Moussa I. There followed a long tragic period marked by internal struggles within the kingdom of Tlemcen for the succession to the throne until 1425, the period of the Hafcid sultan Abu Fares, who took over all of the central Maghreb… It is undoubtedly thanks to these dissensions and these continuous heartbreaks , which weaken the kingdom, that is the capture of Oran by the Spaniards in 1509 after the occupation of Mers el-Kébir. The first liberation of Oran was made in 1705 by the bey Bouchelagham who made it the seat of the beylick. But this liberation was short-lived – since the Spaniards recaptured the city – and ended on October 8, 1792. The city was besieged by Mohamed ben Othman, known as Mohamed El-Kébir, but during the first night of the siege, an earthquake of land destroyed Oran. The bey proposed a treaty to King Charles IV, and in 1792, the Spaniards left Oran for good. In 1831, the city, like the rest of the country, became a French colony. The city was prefecture of the department of Oran which occupied all the West. During the Second World War, on July 3, 1940, the French fleet of the Vichy government, based in Mers el-Kébir, was bombarded by the English fleet coming from Gibraltar. On November 8, 1942, it was the turn of the English and the Americans to land, a prelude to the landing in Italy. During the National Liberation War, Oran, like all the wilayas of the country, paid a heavy price for Algeria to regain its sovereignty.
A wilaya with strong potential
Oran’s ambition is to be among the major cities that count across the Mediterranean, an attractive and creative city. The role of Oran in the Algerian economy and in the western region is crucial, with the new global changes where international competition is lively. The wilaya of Oran has 9 daïras with an area of 2,114 km2, it is bordered to the east by the wilaya of Mostaganem, to the south-east by that of Mascara, to the south-west by that of Sidi Bel-Abbès and to the west by that of Aïn Témouchent. The wilaya has a Mediterranean climate, its relief being marked, in particular by a maritime facade composed of rocky coasts spreading from the mountains of Arzew to Mers el-Kebir in the West and from Cape Lindles to Cape Sigal, administrative limit of the wilaya with sandy beaches of the lower plain of Bousfer, the Andalusians and the bay of Arzew. The Oran-Gdyel plateau extends over a vast area, from the foothills of Murdjadjo to the Sahel of Arzew, and the eastern part of the M’leta plain between the southern foothills of Tessala, the hillsides of the forest of Moulay Ismaïl and the immediate border of the large Sebkha constituted by a depression located at 80 m of altitude of an extent exceeding 30,000 ha (nearly the 6th of the surface of the wilaya). The wilaya has a useful agricultural area of 90,271 ha, the forest area extends over 41,260 ha and its economic potential is agriculture, industry, fishing, new technologies and tourism. Campuses such as the Usto Mohamed-Boudiaf in Oran, the Belgaïd center or even the Abou-Bakr-Belkaïd University can serve as an energizing segment for the wilaya as long as quality prevails over quantity. It is that the wilaya of Oran aspires to rise to the rank of the great metropolises; she has the potential. It is endowed with not inconsiderable basic infrastructures (roads, ports, airport), shelters the largest oil and gas complexes of the country, an attractive coast on the sea; which allows it, subject to optimal management, to offer satisfactory conditions for economic and commercial activity. The extensions of the port of Arzew, a petrochemical center, and of the Ahmed-Ben-Bella airport, major projects are in progress, should allow a better fluidity of the movement of people and goods. Its attractiveness can make it play the role of center of excellence and competitiveness on which rely the relay towns of Tell such as Tlemcen, Sidi Bel Abbès, Mascara and Relizane. With its port, airport, rail and road infrastructure, Oran can attract many investments, subject to new local governance.
Regulator state
Algeria facing Europe, bordering Tunisia, the Atlantic (Morocco, Mauritania), Libya, Mali and Niger as a support point for sub-Saharan Africa extending over 2,380,000 km2 of which 2,100,000 km2 of Saharan space. The density seems low, but 9/10ths of the population are concentrated in the northern lands. After the ´´common welfare´´ of the all-state, it is time for partnership between the actors of economic and social life, for solidarity, for the search for all forms of synergy and for territorial engineering. This is not specific to Oran, but to all the large cities, which implies a real decentralization around six to seven major regional economic centers (East, Center, West, South-East, South-West…). The strategic objective for 2022-2025 is to have another vision of the development of space in order to bring the State closer to the citizen for its participation in the management of the city, which supposes a profound reform of the state and a democratization of society taking into account its cultural anthropology. As responsible for economic policy and facilitator-regulator, the State will probably have to divest itself of administrative responsibilities related to the management of municipal territories, to allow the latter to fully assume their missions as managers of their respective spaces. The transfers of competences from the State to the local authorities must be accompanied by an effective abandonment of the corresponding mission by the State services and the redeployment of all the State agents concerned to avoid duplication between the actions of the State and local authorities. One could imagine large regional hubs. This is why the function of wali – whose essential role is the animation and the coordination of the communes – must no longer meet the current criteria where the administrative takes precedence, but to men managers of a high intellectual level and high morals. Experiences teach us that science parks are real engines of growth for countries, if decision-makers make the right choice of model according to the country’s context.
The conditions of emergence
First, to create the conditions that will simultaneously attract investment, create jobs and stimulate innovation, the metropolis must be based on technology parks. It must be supported by both public actors, particularly in the field of tax incentives, temporary subsidies, land with all the utilities and amenities (State, public banks, universities, etc.) and private (companies, private banks , Chamber of Commerce, employers’ unions, etc.).
Second, efficiency must be based on a successful operating model. In terms of governance, the sustainability of the technology park is based on management autonomy and financial autonomy that enable it to boost the search for business customers and for partnerships with external companies. To make a lasting contribution to job creation in the country, the technology park must be part of a national innovation policy defining the priority sectors (industry, energy, agri-food, services, etc.).
Thirdly, the financing and operating model of the technology park must be built by involving several partners within the framework of a public-private partnership. An incentive regulatory framework must be put in place to facilitate the financing of young companies.
Fourth, science parks must fit into the framework of international competition. This involves marketing the offer in terms of services offered to companies (conference centres, library, meeting rooms, helpdesk, etc.).
These four actions require a new regional planning policy. The image of the commune-manager is based on the need to do more and better with limited resources, avoiding waste, which necessarily excludes sight management by long-term perspectives on the one hand, and coherent arbitrations , on the other hand, that the rigor of the act of management implies.
In summary, the role of the Cijm is to promote sport and Olympism as well as the ideals and values they convey in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, committing to promote the spirit of peace, friendship, excellence, open-mindedness and unity between the countries around the Mediterranean. A sea that for 3000 years has seen the birth of great civilizations, religions, cultures and traditions, as well as the values and spirit of Olympism. This is because the era of confrontations only took place because extremism prevailed in an environment of suspicion and exclusion. To know the Other is to go towards him, to understand him, to know him better. Algeria has always been at the crossroads of trade in the Mediterranean. From Saint Augustine to the Emir Abdelkader, Algeria’s contributions to spirituality, tolerance and universal culture can only predispose us to be attentive to contemporary fractures.
L’Expression: Economy – Civilizational showcase of the country