African And Malagasy Common Organization
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The African and Malagasy Union (AMU) () was an
intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication technologies to facilitate international cultural and economic exchange. ...
created to promote cooperation among newly independent states in
Francophone Africa African French () is the umbrella grouping of varieties of the French language spoken throughout Francophone Africa. Used mainly as a secondary language or ''lingua franca'', it is spoken by an estimated 320 million people across 34 coun ...
. The organization derives its name from the name of the
continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
of Africa and from the former
Malagasy Republic The Malagasy Republic (, ) was a state situated in Southeast Africa on the island of Madagascar. It was established in 1958 as an autonomous republic within the newly created French Community, became fully independent in 1960, and existed un ...
, now
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. The organization disbanded in 1985.


History

The organization was founded on 12 September 1961 in
Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...
by members of the Brazzaville Group of French-Speaking States developing out of a meeting held in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
in December 1960. Twelve
francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
countries agreed to maintain close relationships but also a special relationship with the former
colonial power Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...
, France. The original aims were both economic and political: to adopt common stands on international issues, to promote economic and culture cooperation, and to maintain a common defense organization. However, this caused a problem: the organization would have to depend on France. The diversity, geography, and post-colonial problems of the different countries kept the organization from ever becoming significant. In March 1964 the UAM changed its name to the Afro-Malagasy Union for Economic Cooperation (Union Africaine et Malgache de Coopération Économique; UAMCE).Milutin Tomanović (1965) ''Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1964'',
Institute of International Politics and Economics The Institute of International Politics and Economics ( sr-cyr, Институт за међународну политику и привреду) is a scientific institute - an organization in the field of social sciences performing scientific ...
, p224 (in
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...
)
Moktar Ould Daddah Moktar Ould Daddah (; December 25, 1924 – October 14, 2003) was a Mauritanian politician who served as the country's first President after it gained its independence from France. Moktar served as the country's first List of prime ministers of Ma ...
was elected as the president of the organisation while the city of
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
was selected as the headquarters seat. Subsequently, it confined itself to economic affairs and by 1966 had become inactive. The African and Malagasy Common Organization (Organization Commune Africaine et Malgache; OCAM) was the successor to the UAMCE. It was set up at
Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...
in February 1965 and comprised the original 12 members of the UAM with the addition of
Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
. In May 1965 its membership was increased by the admission of the former Belgian territories of
Congo (Kinshasa) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
and
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
. In June 1965, however, Mauritania withdrew. The remaining 14 then signed the new OCAM charter on 27 June at a meeting in
Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. The aims of the organization were economic, social, technical, and cultural cooperation. OCAM dropped the political and defense objectives that its predecessor, the UAM, had attempted to embrace. It created the structures of an international organization: a Conference of Heads of State and Government, a Council of Ministers, a Secretariat and Secretary-General, and established its headquarters at
Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...
in the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
. It developed a number of joint services and of these the most successful and most well known is the multinational airline
Air Afrique Air Afrique was a Pan-African airline, that was mainly owned by many West African countries for most of its history. It was established as the official transnational carrier for francophone West and Central Africa, because many of these cou ...
. In 1979 the airline was separated from OCAM. The organization's later history became increasingly troubled.
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
joined in 1970. Congo (Kinshasa), by then renamed
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
, withdrew in 1972;
Congo (Brazzaville) The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
in 1973; Cameroon, Chad and Madagascar in 1974; Gabon in 1977. However, some of these countries retained their links with OCAM's various agencies. In 1982 OCAM held a summit at
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...
,
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
; it had then changed its name, though only to substitute Mauritius for Madagascar, to Organization Commune Africaine et Mauricienne. OCAM, also, has ceased to operate. The organization officially became extinct in 1985.


Member states

Founding members: * (withdrew 1974) * (withdrew 1974) * (withdrew 1973) * (later ) * (withdrew 1977) * (later ) * (withdrew 1965) * *
Malagasy Republic The Malagasy Republic (, ) was a state situated in Southeast Africa on the island of Madagascar. It was established in 1958 as an autonomous republic within the newly created French Community, became fully independent in 1960, and existed un ...
(later
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
) (withdrew 1974) * * * Joined February 1965: * Joined May 1965: * (later ) (withdrew 1972) * Joined 1970: *


See also

*
Students Movement of the African and Malagasy Common Organization Students Movement of the African and Malagasy Common Organization (in French: ''Mouvement des Etudiants de l'Organisation Commune Africaine et Malgache''), generally called M.E.O.C.A.M., was an organization of African students in France. M.E.O.C.A. ...


References

{{Authority control International organizations based in Africa International economic organizations Defunct intergovernmental organizations Defunct organizations based in Africa 1961 establishments in Madagascar 1985 disestablishments in Africa Organizations established in 1961 Organizations disestablished in 1985