Deputy Speaker Mohammed Touimi Benjelloun Takes Part in the Meeting of the Standing Committee at the Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie and Affirms Support of Morocco to Efforts for Finding Political Solution in Mali

The standing committee at the Board of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF) held a videoconference meeting with the participation of Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives Mohamed Touimi Benjelloun. The meeting discussed the situations in Mali, Lebanon, Armenia, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso and several current issues that are at the heart of the concerns of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie.

On this occasion, Mr. Mohamed Touimi Benjelloun affirmed the strong historical long-standing bonds that link the Kingdom of Morocco to the Republic of Mali, noting the historical commercial relations and the convoys that crossed the Sahara to reach Fes and Marrakech, in addition to the struggle of both peoples to earn their freedom from the colonial rule in the 1950s. He also stressed that "the Republic of Mali will pursue its historical role and continental radiance and contribution to the universal human heritage.”

Mr. Touimi Benjelloun affirmed that since the eruption of the crisis in Mali, Morocco has been supporting the territorial integrity of this brotherly country and urged the parties to reconcile, prioritize consensus, and commit to ensuring the security of this country that plays a key role in Africa, noting that Morocco is desirous of stability and sustained development in all Africa and other parts of the world.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives stated that, following the high directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates performed a visit to Bamako on September 29^th, 2020, delivering a message of support, friendship, and solidarity to the Malian authorities and people. Mr. Touimi considered this visit to Bamako a friendship message to all active forces in Mali to mobilize all Malians to bring this transitional phase to success with full respect to the constitutional provisions and acquisitions to avoid creating a crisis that the brotherly Malian people would pay for.

Mr. Mohamed Touimi Benjelloun noted that all Malian parties, including the interim President of the Republic of Mali HH Bah Ndaw, extended their sincere gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the constant care he always gave to the Republic of Mali and its great people.

Besides, the Deputy Speaker noted that Morocco supports Mali's efforts in the operation towards reconciliation and reinstating peace and continues to show its commitment by supporting the Malian authorities in matters of security and cultural cooperation and social, economic, and human development. Mr. Touimi Benjelloun noted the persistence of the spiritual ties that consolidated the Morocco-Mali brotherhood for centuries through the training of Malian Imams in the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates, highlighting that this Institute projects the true image of the tolerant Islam that is open to its environment and context, under the Sunni Maliki school.

As concerns the repercussions of the global pandemic, Mr. Mohamed Touimi Benjelloun called for drawing lessons from this human and health crisis and considering it a ground for launching studies within the ad-hoc committees of the Assembly in coordination with the competent international organizations like the World Health Organization, and to work on avoiding such health threats in the future.