Guelmim-Oued Noun

Guelmim-Oued Noun (Arabic: ڭلميم-وادي نون, romanized: gulmīm wādī nūn) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. The southeastern part of the region is located in the disputed territory of Western Sahara and a small strip of land in this area is administered by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The region as a whole covers an area of 46,108 km^2[2] and had a population of 433,757 as of the 2014 Moroccan census.^[3] The capital of the region is Guelmim.^[4]

Guelmim-Oued Noun ڭلميم-وادي نون (Arabic)
Region (disputed)
Location in territory claimed by Morocco
Coordinates: 28.45°N 10.11°W / 28.45; -10.11
Countries	Morocco  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Created	September 2015
Capital	Guelmim
Government
• Type	Governor–regional council
• Wali	Mohamed Najem Abhai
• President	Mbarka Bouaida[1]
Area [2]
• Total	46,108 km2 (17,802 sq mi)
Population  (1 September 2014)[3]
• Total	433,757
• Density	9.4/km2 (24/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
ISO 3166 code	MA-10
Website	http://www.hcp.ma/region-guelmim/

Geography

Guelmim-Oued Noun borders the regions of Souss-Massa to the northeast and Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra to the south. It borders Algeria's Tindouf Province to the east and Mauritania's Tiris Zemmour Region to the southeast. Long stretches of virgin beach line its Atlantic coast in the northwest.^[5] The region is bisected by the usually dry lower course of the Draa River which runs east to west. The capital Guelmim and the Noun River (Arabic: واد نون, Wad Noun) are located in the north and together give the region its name. A portion of the Moroccan Wall is located in the southeastern corner of the region: the area to its east is under the control of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

History

Guelmim-Oued Noun was formed in September 2015 by merging Sidi Ifni Province, formerly part of Souss-Massa-Drâa region, with three provinces from the former Guelmim-Es Semara region.^[4]

Government

Abderrahim Ben Bouaida was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. He is a member of the National Rally of Independents (RNI).^[6] Mohamed Benribak was appointed governor (wali) of the region on 13 October 2015.^[7] He was succeeded by Mohamed Ennajem Abhai in 2017.^[8]

Subdivisions

Provinces of Guelmim-Oued Noun

Guelmim-Oued Noun comprises four provinces:^[4]

• Assa-Zag Province
• Guelmim Province
• Sidi Ifni Province
• Tan-Tan Province

Economy and infrastructure

Fishing is an important economic activity: there are ports at Sidi Ifni and at El Ouatia. Beach tourism is under development. The major roads in the region are the N1 and N12. There are airports at Guelmim and Tan-Tan.^[9]

References

1. Chechik, Sonhya (9 July 2019). "Mbarka Bouaida Wins 'Historic' Election as First Woman to Lead Moroccan Region". Morocco World News. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
2. "La Région de Guelmim-Oued Noun" (PDF) (in French). Ministry of the Interior, Morocco. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
3. "POPULATION LÉGALE DES RÉGIONS, PROVINCES, PRÉFECTURES, MUNICIPALITÉS, ARRONDISSEMENTS ET COMMUNES DU ROYAUME D'APRÈS LES RÉSULTATS DU RGPH 2014" (in Arabic and French). High Commission for Planning. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
4. "Décret fixant le nom des régions" (PDF). Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales (in French). 20 February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
5. Coste, Christine (7 December 2005). "Les plages blanches du Sahara" [The white beaches of the Sahara]. Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
6. "Abderrahim Ben Bouaida élu président du Conseil de la région Guelmim-Oued Noun" [Abderrahim Ben Bouaida elected Council president of Guelmim-Oued Noun region]. La Nouvelle Tribune (in French). 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
7. "SM le Roi a procédé à la nomination les Walis des régions" [His majesty the King appointed the Walis of the regions]. La Vie Éco (in French). 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
8. Lourhzal, Mohcine (29 June 2017). "Qui sont les nouveaux Walis et Gouverneurs?". Le Reporter (in French). Retrieved 9 October 2017.
9. "Région Guelmim-Oued Noun: Des potentialités énormes et des perspectives de développement prometteuses" (Press release) (in French). Guelmim: Maghreb Arabe Press. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.