Cooperation with ACMAD : African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development

The assembly received a letter from ACMAD dated on January 9 ^th, 2002. By this letter ACMAD stressed its wish to be somehow associated to the ALADIN consortium. Such a partnership would help African countries benefit from numerical weather forecasting. Such an help to Africa was considered positively by the ALADIN assembly. But it still raises political and technical issues. Technical questions include the possible use of scientific ALADIN choices in the vicinity of cyclons, the possibility of running larger ALADIN models covering parts of Africa, the transmission of results into the various countries, etc. Political questions include the extension to Africa of the agreement with the ECMWF, the political "visibility" of the ALADIN consortium, and the adequation to the new MoU. To study theses questions and report to the assembly, a small working group is created to work on questions of cooperation between the ALADIN Consortium and non-member African NMSs. The main task of this group will be :

1. To examine the ACMAD official request that led to its creation,
   
2. To define an acceptable philosophy for all ALADIN Members in view of possible cooperation with the relevant African partners,
   
3. To study which directions of change for the MoU and which contacts with ECMWF would be necessary for an implementation of the ensuing strategy,
   
4. To see, in particular in coordination with the African ALADIN Full-Members, which steps would be most likely to concretise the intentions born out of points 1, 2, 3 above.
   

The Working Group comprises representatives from Morocco, France, Belgium, Croatia and Romania.