President of the Andean Parliament Applauds the Will of His Majesty the King to Promote the Material and Human Capital of the Kingdom of Morocco through the Development of Its Various Regions
The President of the Andean Parliament, Hon. Fidel Espinoza Sandoval, stressed that the visit of the Andean Parliament members to the Kingdom of Morocco, which included the cities of Laayoune, Marrakech, Rabat, and Casablanca, has confirmed concretely that the development of the different regions of the Kingdom of Morocco lucidly reflects the will of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to promote the material and human capital of the Kingdom.
The President made this statement during a meeting held on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, between him and a Moroccan delegation that took part in the General Assembly of the Andean Parliament in the Colombian capital, Bogota. The Moroccan delegation comprised Rep. Fatine El Ghali, Rep. Mohammed Benjelloun Touimi, Cllr. Abdelkader Salama.
During this encounter, Rep. Fidel Espinoza Sandoval noted that the recent visit allowed the Andean Parliament members to witness the atmosphere of security and stability, as well as the development projects underway in the Kingdom of Morocco. In this regard, the President of the Andean Parliament focused on the social development projects that the delegation witnessed in the Moroccan city of Laayoune, confirming that these projects and the Moroccan experience in the development of its Sahrawi provinces is an inspiring model for the countries of the South in general, and Andean countries in particular. In this context, he recalled the importance of the conclusions of the first parliamentary and economic forum, "Morocco - Andean Community." The said conclusions highlighted the great opportunities for trade between the Andean countries and the Kingdom of Morocco, especially given that the latter is a gateway to the African continent and a reliable partner for establishing a model partnership of South-South cooperation.
Regarding the national cause, the President of the Andean Parliament noted that the positions in favor of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco are not dictated by its great esteem and attachment to the Kingdom of Morocco. On the contrary, they are positions based on solid convictions and field visits to the southern provinces of the Kingdom, during which he observed the reality of the situation and the political and historical backgrounds of this artificial conflict. In the same vein, he noted that the holding of a session of the Andean Parliament for the first time outside Latin America, precisely in the Moroccan city of Laayoune, is in line with the decision taken by this significant regional parliamentary body in May 2018; a decision that supports the Moroccan initiative of autonomy in the southern provinces, under the national and territorial sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco.
For their part, the members of the Moroccan parliamentary delegation expressed their great esteem for the historic visit of the Andean Parliament to the Kingdom of Morocco from July 3 to 8 and their particular pride in holding the Plenary Session of the Andean Parliament in the Moroccan city of Laayoune. According to the Moroccan delegation, this event has excellent connotations of the great esteem that the Kingdom of Morocco enjoys in the South American region. In the same context, they stressed their gratitude for the noble and fraternal positions and feelings that the Andean parliamentarians have expressed towards the Kingdom of Morocco and its just causes, especially the cause of its territorial integrity.
On the same note, the Moroccan parliamentarians confirmed that this visit and its main conclusions dictate significant responsibilities related to the need to sponsor this excellent path of bilateral relations uniting the Moroccan Parliament, being an advanced partner of the Andean Parliament, and to promote it to the level of concrete cooperation programs that meet the aspirations of the Andean and Moroccan peoples in terms of economic, social and cultural development. In the same vein, they emphasized the firm parliamentary will that is consistent with the strategic choice of the Kingdom of Morocco to support South-South cooperation, a choice sponsored and led by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah aid him.
This meeting, which was attended by the Ambassador of His Majesty the King to the Republic of Colombia, H.E. Farida Loudaya, featured the decoration of Cllr. Abdelkader Salama of the Order of Merit by the General Assembly of the Andean Parliament, in recognition of his efforts and those of the House of Councilors, and the Moroccan Parliament in general, in advancing parliamentary relations with the Andean Parliament and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
It should be noted that the Andean Parliament was created on October 25, 1979, as an institution that represents the peoples of the five Andean countries, namely Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. The Moroccan Parliament joined this regional parliamentary gathering in 1996 as an observer member. During a visit by the President of the Andean Parliament to our country in 2016, a cooperation and friendship agreement was concluded to create a joint permanent parliamentary committee that works to strengthen ties and encourage the exchange of parliamentary expertise between the Moroccan Parliament and its Andean counterpart.