Deputy Speaker Mohammed Ouzzine Takes Part in Meeting of FOPREL and Highlights Moroccan Experience in Confronting COVID-19

Deputy Speaker of House of Representative Mohammed Ouzzine took part on Thursday, April 15, 2021, in the first meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Committee on Recovering from the COVID-19 Crisis under the Forum of Chairpersons of Legislative Assemblies of Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico (FOPREL), held via videoconference.

In his statement, Mr. Ouzzine noted that the Kingdom of Morocco was one of the countries that reacted rapidly and effectively to address the COVID-19 pandemic at all health, economic, and social levels. The intervention of the Kingdom happened through limiting the propagation of the pandemic by imposing the lockdown and creating a fund for managing the COVID-19 pandemic to alleviate the repercussions of this tough juncture by providing financial and social aid to the vulnerable groups. Mr. Ouzzine also noted that Morocco is making significant strides towards achieving herd immunity through the national vaccination campaign.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives lauded the initiative of forming the Inter-parliamentary Committee on Recovering from the COVID-19 Crisis, which will set an action plan to follow the regional agenda of the FOPREL to prevent and address the consequences of COVID-19. The Committee will also be in charge of supporting consultation and intensifying the parliamentary efforts to address the pandemic's potential medium-term and long-term repercussions.

The Moroccan Parliament is an observing member of the FOPREL since 2014. The Forum, established in 1994, aims to support the mechanisms of application and coordination of the laws of its Member States, to create consultative mechanisms between the chairpersons of their legislative assemblies to address the various problems arising in the region, and to assist in legislative studies on the regional level.

The Forum, based in the Nicaraguan capital Managua, brings together the chairpersons of the legislative assemblies of the ten member States, namely Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.