Speaker of House of Representatives Holds Talks with Speaker of National Assembly of Republic of Serbia

Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki held talks on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at the House, with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dačić, currently on an official visit to our country, leading an important delegation including the Deputy Speaker Muarem Zukorlic and the Chairperson of the Serbia-Morocco Parliamentary Friendship Group Tamara Pilipovic.

During the meeting, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia affirmed that the parliamentary cooperation between the two legislative institutions is an essential pillar to consolidating the bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Serbia in all areas. In the same context, he lauded the qualitative friendship linking the two countries and their peoples for a long period. He also recalled that the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of the late His Majesty King Hassan II, was one of the countries that established the Non-Aligned Movement, that Serbia would host the celebration of its 60^th anniversary.

Mr. Ivica Dačić commended the important position that the Kingdom of Morocco holds at the international level. He said, "Morocco is an essential country and a cornerstone to stability and development in the region." He also reiterated his country's support to the autonomy plan presented by the Kingdom of Morocco as a solution to the artificial conflict around the Moroccan Sahara, stressing that territorial integrity is "a core question." The Serbian official also congratulated Morocco on its good management of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that Serbia has too managed to procure the necessary vaccines for its people and overcome the pandemic's repercussions.

The Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia expressed his satisfaction with the relations linking the two countries, highlighting the main cooperation areas between them, such as tourism, industry, education, and other areas. He also called for uplifting the commercial and economic exchange to utilize the opportunities and promising prospects offered by the economies of the two countries.

For his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives noted that a cooperation agreement links the two institutions, concluded in 2018. He also stated that parliamentary diplomacy in the two countries is built upon the UN standards, especially regarding "the respect of the unity of peoples and countries." He also underlined that the Kingdom of Morocco has always supported the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and lauded the position of the latter in favor of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.

Mr. El Malki stressed the importance of diversifying and advancing the cooperation areas between the two countries and noted that the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, considers South-South cooperation a strategic choice. He also affirmed that the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Serbia, given their geostrategic position, may build tridimensional economic partnerships that would advance Africa.

The Speaker also stressed that the Non-Aligned Movement can still contribute to entrenching world security and peace and defend the interests of southern countries in “a multi-polar world." On the same occasion, he suggested the convention of an international parliamentary forum to study the prospects of cooperation between the Movement members.