Address of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Zoumi at the Opening of the Forum for Parliamentary Dialogue between the Senates of Africa, Arab World, Latin America and the Caribbean

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful, and may Peace and Prayer be on the most Noble of his messengers,

Mr. Speaker of the House of Councilors Naam Miyara,

Honorable Speakers of legislative institutions,

Honorable fellow parliamentarians,

Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, who could not join you due to previously scheduled engagements, I am honored to take part in the opening of the Forum for Parliamentary Dialogue between the Senates of three geopolitical regions, namely Africa, the Arab World and Latin America and the Caribbean; such areas with whom we, the Kingdom of Morocco, share bonds of belonging and culture, interests, and a history of resistance to occupation.

If our belonging to Africa and the Arab World is deeply rooted in history, and if our geographical position makes us a crossroads of Arab, Islamic and African civilizations, then it is with Latin America that we share a cultural and civilizational heritage that has contributed immensely to the development of Humanity. It is an Ibero-Andalusian heritage that puts us at the heart of these geopolitical spaces in terms of history, geography and civilization.

On the basis of solid and constant shared values and factors, the peoples of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Arab World take on the development struggle. However, these peoples also share significant challenges that are not an irreversible fate, but a result of historical injustice, unfair global distribution of employment, as well as unbalanced international relations.

The current global geopolitical contexts aggravate these challenges whose price our people pay despite holding no responsibility in them. After undergoing several local and transnational disputes, pandemics, lack of development, migration, asylum and climate change repercussions, our countries today pay the price of conflicts that are not necessarily taking place on their lands and the cost of the monopoly of markets and technology by a specific international minority.

Fellow parliamentarians,

The world order and conscience were, in the past, held accountable for the situation in several regions of our three geopolitical communities, where abject poverty, unemployment and famine have proliferated amongst large strata of the populations of these regions. Also, and in the near past, they were held accountable about the meaning and value of global solidarity in the times of Covid-19; times when the peoples of the South countries have abandoned to address the pandemic with simple capacities and modest health infrastructure, and when the world was put to the test in the production, distribution and usage of anti-covid19 vaccines and medicines. But, unfortunately, in those times, we have witnessed narrow selfish and patriotic tendencies that have weakened the trust of peoples of the South in the value and notion of global solidarity in times of distress.

Honorable Speakers,

Fellow parliamentarians,

If the post-Second World War, the fight against colonialism and the national liberation movements have facilitated the elimination of foreign domination and the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, then the present goal should be the creation of a geopolitical alliance between our three geographical communities. Such alliance should be based on the logic of efficiency and serving the interest of our peoples, free from obsolete slogans and oriented to the future to achieve noble goals, namely development and progress, mutual prosperity, creation of jobs for our youth, provision of social services, that are health and education, for our peoples, and equipping our countries with strategic infrastructure based on the respect for the sovereignty of States and their territorial integrity.

We are required to transform our potential into assets, share the opportunities facilitated by our young human resources, invest in the raw materials that our countries have to achieve development, make the necessary transitions in the production and service sectors, and empower our countries.

We, fellow parliamentarians, have a market with over two billion consumers and the most extensive arable lands. In this respect, Africa alone possesses 60% of the world's arable land. Moreover, we have the necessary energy and mineral resources to drive the world's economy, and our countries have shores on three oceans and three seas, which are undoubtedly open gates for the development of world trade. They are also factors that facilitate a trade boom and South-South exchanges available to a world built upon energy, trade, and technology.

An alliance based on nobility for Humanity, peace, democracy, and wealth sharing can be nothing but contrary to the policy of traditional unproductive blocs that only reproduce obsolete rhetoric that deprives our peoples of opportunities to rise and rally for development and stability.

Fellow parliamentarians,

Our peoples have had enough of conflicts and crises and have grown tired of remaining a witness of their countries and their bounties becoming subject of international bidding and competition. Our peoples no longer accept traditional models of assistance and support. We are motivated by the growing awareness of our peoples of their interests and the importance of participation in the management of public affairs and within the State of institutions, law and democracy to implement policies of a win-win partnership that takes into account the present and future stakes for Humanity; for instance the stakes of providing food, in which our countries have enormous potential that can ensure food security for the entire Earth population; the stakes of human resources, where we have young potential; the stakes of future energies, where we have enormous abilities; and the stakes of a green economy, facilitated by the geographical diversity of our three geopolitical communities.

While we certainly need technologies, skills and infrastructure, successful models amongst our countries at this level, however, confirm that this goal is not infeasible. On the other hand, we should have the political will, the determination of elites and the mobilization of peoples, and here comes the need for the crucial role of parliaments in mobilizing and giving political impetus to projects on this horizon, and your forum is undoubtedly an essential step in this direction. In this vein, we must realize that even in terms of figures, our countries make up half of the membership of the United Nations. Therefore, Combining all these capacities can make our countries a geopolitical balanced force that influences international relations, the world order, global decision-making and steers events.

Fellow parliamentarians,

On this horizon and towards these ends, the Moroccan-African policy, sponsored by the High solicitude of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, is firmly and resolutely advancing. It is a policy based on mutual profit, partnership and institutionalization. It places the African human being at the core of its concern. For this same reason, the Kingdom of Morocco has set the defense of climate justice for Africa and a positive, realistic humanitarian approach to cross-border migration at the heart of its foreign policy. On the basis of this doctrine, the Kingdom of Morocco has established solid relations based on clarity and solidarity with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is on the same basis that it is deeply rooted in its Arab environment and that it establishes advanced strategic relations with the majority of its brothers in the Arab world, out of concern for stability, rejection of foreign interference and pursuit of a concrete action with the Palestinian people in order to attain their legitimate rights to independence and the establishment of an independent State with Al-Quds as its capital.

Our country marches this path on the basis of its own independent sovereign decisions and choices and in assumption of its responsibilities as an ancient State well entrenched in history.

Thank you for your keen listening.