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2026 | Participation of the City of Namur in the 106th AIMF Executive Board meeting in Nouakchott

A. Barzin

The City of Namur was represented by Ms Anne Barzin, First Alderwoman and Alderwoman for International Relations, at the 106th AIMF Executive Board meeting held in Nouakchott from 2 to 4 February 2026.

Tribute and recognition

The mayors, current and former members of the Executive Board, paid tribute to Ms Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, who over the past 12 years, has had a profound impact on the network of Francophone mayors through her vision, humanism, and ability to unite people. Her presidency brought the network to its highest level.

Interim presidency

As Ms Anne Hidalgo will conclude her mandate at the end of March, the Executive Board decided to appoint Ms Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of the Regional Council of Nouakchott, as Interim President starting in April, until the next AIMF General Assembly in Casablanca in December.

International conference: Building Peace through City Diplomacy

On the occasion of the 106th Executive Board meeting, the international conference “Building Peace through City Diplomacy” was held, which made it possible to:

  • Share lessons learned from the workshops held with three groups of cities and umbrella organisations from Benin, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal, winners of the 2025 Call for Projects launched under the AIMF initiative for peace, security and development in the Sahel and border countries.

  • Highlight the strategic role of cities facing security challenges, social crises and economic vulnerabilities in order to maintain social cohesion, ensuring social cohesion, continuity of essential services, and territorial stability.

Two high-level round tables for these debates:

  1. Urban security and social cohesion: mayors on the front line in times of crisis, with the contribution of the mayors of Liège, N’Djamena and Kinshasa.

  2. City diplomacy as a tool for peace: from local action to international advocacy, with the contribution of the mayors of Dakar, Geneva, Nouakchott and the OIF.