Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, at Launch of the Institutional Twinning Project between the House of Representatives and Several European Parliaments

Hon. Elian Tillieux, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies at the Kingdom of Belgium,

Hon. Valérie Rabault, First deputy Speaker of the French National Assembly,

Hon. Jaroslav BŽOCH, Deputy Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Czech Chamber of Deputies,

Esteemed colleagues members of delegations,

Hon. Habib El Malki, Chairperson of the Morocco-France Parliamentary Friendship Group,

Esteemed colleagues, members of the Board of the House of Representatives and Chairpersons of the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus,

Your Excellency, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Morocco,

Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors,

I am delighted to launch, in your presence, the implementation of the Institutional Twinning Program in the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, the French National Assembly, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, and the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Belgium, supported by the four legislative institutions of Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Portugal, and financed by the European Union.

First of all, I would like to welcome you all to the House of Representatives and commend the choice of your legislative institutions to take part in this second institutional Twinning with our House. I would also like to show gratitude to our historical and strategic partner, the European Union, for supporting this institutional work that embodies the noble values that bring us together, aside from economic interests and benefits.

Allow me, ladies and gentlemen, to recall the results of the first institutional Twinning between the Moroccan House of Representatives and five European legislative institutions, funded by the European Union, which I had the honor to launch here in this very Hall, together with my colleague, Hon. Claude Bartolone, the former Speaker of the French National Assembly, on June 13, 2016. In this respect, and in addition to exchanges, mutual visits, and study missions at the political and human resources levels between the Houses parties to the Twinning, several practical guides on the competencies of parliaments have been produced following a participatory methodology and a comparative vision. These are today important documents that enrich the Moroccan Parliamentary documentary record, and our House does not hesitate to share them with other parliaments.

In addition to this vital aspect of enriching parliamentary culture, twinning activities have also covered the areas of digital Parliament and the archive, which we are proud of what our House has achieved in organizing and digitizing to contribute to memory preservation for the benefit of scientific research, and enriching the parliamentary library.

On the basis of this positive accumulation, we have elaborated the second Twinning Project that we are launching today, which reflects the positive results of our partnership and our shared desire to ensure the sustainability of the achievements within its framework, which will contribute to the improvement of democratic practice, and diversify and strengthen dialogue between the institutions parties to the Twinning, following a logic of partnership, interaction, comparative analysis, and joint construction.

The Twinning comprises two convergent parts, as the activities programmed under the first one are aimed at strengthening the abilities of the human resources at the Parliamentary Administration, and the second which are designed to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the House in the exercise of its constitutional competencies and functions.

In the interest of efficiency, the twinning project has a significant component linked to a central community concern in Morocco as in other countries, which is related to strengthening the presence of women in parliaments.

On the other hand, the Twinning aims to enable the House to identify good practices in the field of the application of bilingualism in institutions and public life in connection with a central constitutional, institutional and cultural reform that our country is proud to implement, namely through the implementation of the constitutional requirement for the formalization of the Tamazight language and its integration into education and the various priority sectors of public life.

In this respect, I have no doubt that the Belgian practice with regard to bilingualism is a model to follow, and we hope to benefit from it in the House of Representatives. For this purpose, I commend the inclusion of this component in the twinning activities.

This is a fundamental reform in the context of the decisive institutional reforms launched more than two decades ago by our country under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, of which the 2011Constitution was one of the main pillars.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We do not differ that democracy does not flourish or take root, except under peace and stability and within a sound institutional life. Indeed, real democracy is also one of the fundamental factors of stability, development, and progress. However, the prerequisite for all of this is to guarantee and ensure respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and safety of the borders of States. In the current international context, which has peculiar features that pose specific challenges to the international community, the need to make this principle more prominent in international relations is growing.

As colleagues, you are aware of how the Kingdom of Morocco, a pillar of stability, and a unique rising democratic power in the region, has been subjected to a historical injustice by the confection of an artificial conflict over its southern provinces in the context of the cold war during the 1970s, at a time when it was, and still is, voluntarily and based on a conscious choice, to the camp of freedom, democracy, and pluralism.

The Kingdom of Morocco was a victim of colonization, regained its independence and sovereignty in 1956, and completed its territorial integrity in stages within the framework of negotiations and based on international law and legality, including its sovereignty over its southern territories in 1975. Today, after 47 years, these territories have been subject to drastic change and have become centers of investment attraction. In addition, they have been empowered with major structured infrastructure and social services, which empower the people of these territories and enable them to participate enthusiastically in the election and running of institutions, and in national life in general. Yet, this excellent integration would not have been possible without the consolidation of the democratic edifice and institutions and the superb development effort and sacrifices made by the Kingdom of Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, and before him by His Majesty the late King Hassan II. As a result, these territories are now a model of prosperity and upward mobility, coupled with increased freedoms and respect for the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, laws, and institutions.

Esteemed colleagues,

I am not about to give a lesson in history, but I always see it as my duty, as the head of an institution that represents popular sovereignty, where all the national political forces of different trends are represented to remind our friends that the Kingdom of Morocco does not and will never accept being a victim of secession, nor will it accept the questioning of the unity of its national territory from Tangier to Lagouira. If no member of the international community accepts to be the victim of such blurring and false propaganda, that is, to harm its national soil, our friends must be on the side of historical truth. In short, there is no more eloquent statement on this matter, and there is no more accurate national statement summarizing the current national position than the words of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, "The Sahara cause is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world. It is the clear, simple benchmark whereby my country measures the sincerity of friendships and the efficiency of partnerships."

On the other hand, within the same framework of partnership, I do not doubt that you are aware of the role, place, and credibility of the Kingdom of Morocco in facing the challenges facing our Euro-Mediterranean region and the world, including the terrorist challenge and the decisive role of our country in confronting it, as well as climate imbalances and the role of the Kingdom in building alternative international policies in this regard, in addition to peace, security, irregular migration and the high cost it requires to reduce it, not against migrants, but in a war against human trafficking networks that exploit the situation of millions of frustrated young people looking for a better life. Her Excellency the Ambassador Ms. Cussac is today here with us to confirm what the European support represents for our country to confront these networks; out of the total public expenditure the Kingdom of Morocco allocates to this purpose (less than 20 percent only, in addition to the cost of integrating immigrants into Moroccan society following a voluntary policy).

These constant Moroccan roles are based on trust, responsibility, fulfillment of commitments, and a sincere attachment to international legality and its requirements. At the same time, our country continues to achieve its economic takeoff as an open rising power with a diversified free economy. The Kingdom also remains eager to share its skills and consolidate its partnerships with various geopolitical regions, especially with Africa, where it is responsible for achieving joint development on a win-win basis.

Esteemed colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Since 2018, when the first twinning project was completed, our country has made significant achievements in democratic practice and consolidated the foundations of the State of institutions. In this context, His Majesty the King, may God glorify him, has launched a project that gives democracy its social meaning. This is the case with the social protection and health coverage universalization projects, which are carried out smoothly and will undoubtedly contribute to social integration and cohesion. Furthermore, at the institutional level, our country organized in September 2021 six local, regional, and national elections, which were characterized by transparency and intense competition between political parties, and resulted in a new majority in the House of Representatives, out of which His Majesty the King, appointed a new Government based on the results of the ballot boxes.

The said elections have been conducted amidst the global context you are all aware of, namely the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, I would like to reiterate how proud we are, in the Kingdom of Morocco, of the way we have managed the unprecedented situation that it had imposed, both in terms of providing vaccines and the requirements of prevention and providing support to the social and professional groups affected by the lockdown measures, through relying on the potentials of our country and the value of solidarity, and not dissociating from our international commitments and responsibilities, especially towards our brothers in Africa, at a time when selfishness and narrow national tendencies had flourished in many world regions.

This measure, which once again demonstrated the value of the leadership and prudence of His Majesty the King's vision, helped to prepare Morocco to win the stakes of the economic recovery phase, despite the challenging international context resulting from the factors that we all know.

Esteemed colleagues,

The Twinning we are launching today, bearing in mind that its implementation had started three months ago, with seven European legislative institutions, with whose countries we enjoy close partnerships and relations, is larger and more noble to be boiled down to mere financial support. It is a means of dialogue, exchange, and enrichment of democratic practices, and a way to grow confidence and a collective orientation towards the future based on mutual respect, which we should embody as a basis in our dealings. Such respect should first be given to the feelings of public opinion in our countries and peoples by valuing their vital issues and avoiding what may provoke them in an international context of major transformations and the emergence of more serious threats to global stability.

I want to thank you for taking the trouble to travel, a token of the friendship linking our countries and affirmation of our shared attachment to the system of values of democracy, freedom, and human rights. I would also like to commend those who stood behind this joint effort, above all the European Union Embassy in the Kingdom of Morocco and the Ministry of Finance, the officials responsible for the project in our twinning assemblies, and, of course, the experts mobilized within the framework of these exchanges.

Thank you for your keen attention.