Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives at Second Edition of the Marrakesh Parliamentary Economic Forum of the Euro-Mediterranean and the Gulf

The First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Mohamed Sabbari, gave an address on Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Marrakesh, on behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, during the opening session of the Second Edition of the Marrakesh Parliamentary Economic Forum of the Euro-Mediterranean and the Gulf, organized under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, by the House of Councilors and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean on July 11-12, 2024, in Marrakesh. 

Here follows the full text of the address:

“Honorable Enaam Mayara, brother, Speaker of the House of Councilors, and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, 

Honorable Speakers of legislative assemblies and Presidents of multilateral parliamentary organizations,

Esteemed officials of regional and international organizations, each in their name and capacity, 

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to participate alongside you, on behalf of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, in the opening of the second edition of the Marrakesh Parliamentary Economic Forum for the Euro-Mediterranean and the Gulf. I also want to thank my brother, the Honorable Enaam Mayara, for inviting the House of Representatives to take part in this gathering, which will undoubtedly constitute a framework for a rich debate on issues of great relevance in the current international context and for the Mediterranean and Arab Gulf regions.

This Forum takes place amidst a regional and international context characterized, with great regret, by the exacerbation, geographical expansion, and intensification of conflicts and crises in the region, with all the consequential heavy human losses and the political, economic, and social repercussions.

In this regard, the war on Gaza, the killings, and the displacement of civilians are nothing but an inevitable result of the reality of the occupation and the historical injustice that the Palestinian people have been subjected to for 76 years. Without a political horizon for the Middle East conflict and without a decisive and determined intervention by the international community, the Middle East conflict will continue to generate crises in the region and its surrounding geography and impede the development and shared prosperity we all envision, and the spiral of violence will continue to smash all hopes the peoples of the region have for peaceful coexistence.

While the Arab Gulf region, at least its six brotherly countries, have made great strides in the direction of cooperation, understanding, and unity in the face of crises and foreign interventions, the Mediterranean region is still the space where the largest quantities of weapons are piled up, and around which the most complex and protracted crises erupt, with all the resulting human and economic repercussions. In this regard, the migrations, displacement, refugees, and tragedies that result from these crises are partly the inevitable result of wars, conflicts, and insecurity, which are factors that are added to the repercussions of climate imbalances such as desertification, drought, deforestation, and water scarcity reigning over the Mediterranean region.

Against the backdrop of this situation, this Forum is held to tackle the transition to green energy and support entrepreneurship and enterprises working in the field. It is not only a matter of providing the answer to the issues of energy scarcity and high energy prices, but also realizing a number of global bets that our two regions of the Mediterranean and the Gulf must win in order to become a lever of collective global action to save planet earth. These bets can be summarized as follows: 

• The first bet concerns contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, at least as agreed upon at the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris, Marrakesh, Bonn, Sharm el-Sheikh, Dubai). It is a political and moral responsibility towards sustainability and future generations.

• The second one is about making the transition to green energy the centerpiece of the transition to a green economy, with the dynamics it unleashes and the investment, employment, and innovation opportunities it creates to make life easier.

• The third bet is to reduce the expenditure required by traditional energies, their cost on public budgets, and the cost of production and its impact on the prices of various goods and services, whose rise often affects social and political stability.

• The fourth bet is a cross-cutting one, related to achieving sustainable development through the rational exploitation of natural resources, both on land and at sea, facilitating the regularity of natural cycles and ecological balance, providing a sound environment for urbanization, and making cities and urban communities viable and responsive to populous pressure and mobility needs.

Honorable Speaker, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

It may seem easy while we are planning to win these bets, but it may not be as easy when it comes to their implementation and execution, as we come across several difficulties and challenges that can only be met with collective action and solidarity, and especially with collective political will.

At the forefront of these challenges is the scarcity of financial resources and sources of financing for green projects, which is a significant obstacle that hinders the achievement of many ambitions and aspirations. Despite the launch of several mechanisms to combat the effects of climate imbalances, including the Green Climate Fund, which was initially intended to support countries vulnerable to climate imbalances, and without facilitating access to finance by needy countries and private entrepreneurs, international compacts for the transition to a green economy will remain ineffective.

The second challenge is access to the technology used to produce energy from renewable sources due to its high prices, its patents, and rigid processes that jeopardize ambitious projects.

The third challenge is the imposition of strict standards, such as zero-carbon standards on trade and goods from the South, which inhibits the dynamics of a gradual transition to a green economy.

In the face of these challenges, we, parliaments and multilateral parliamentary organizations, should advocate for facilitating the transfer of green economy technology, capital, and investments from the North to the South on more accessible terms and seek to integrate them into national industries to make them available at an affordable cost.

We believe that combining these two elements with the skills and human resources that the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries enclose and the great potential of our brothers in the Arab Gulf and the experience they have accumulated in the field of energy will create an inter-regional alliance for a green economy, thus stimulating the creation of more enterprises and facilitating the creation of major eco-friendly projects that generate income and jobs.

Ultimately, it is about instilling solidarity among countries and peoples and sharing prosperity, the fruits of technology, and wealth.

Of course, as I have already pointed out, this depends on peace and stability, confidence-building, and an orientation towards building collective security.

There is no doubt that we all recognize that the path to peace, security, progress, and coexistence lies in enabling the peoples of the region to enjoy their territories and peace and all States to enjoy their right to territorial integrity and security.
 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

The Kingdom of Morocco, which hosts you today, is proud of its achievements in the field of energy produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy. The projects implemented in various regions of the Kingdom stand as a testimony to the firm commitment to combat the causes of climate imbalances and the plans to make our country a major international player in the field of green hydrogen. These projects are credible, and their success is guaranteed because they are planned and implemented under the guidance, leadership, and patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him.

Besides, the agricultural projects realized in Morocco, thanks to successive strategies, testify to the Kingdom's commitment to continue contributing to international food security. As you know, with these and other plans, our country is open to partnerships that we are proud to have with our brothers in the Arab Gulf and our friends in Europe.

On the other hand, we should always remember that Africa is the core of the Mediterranean and Arab Gulf, as it is a promising continent that enjoys excellent potential in the field of green economy, which requires partnerships and financing to turn into wealth for the countries of the continent within the framework of a win-win logic and balanced partnership. 

I do not need to recall Morocco's firm commitment, under the leadership of His Majesty, may Allah assist him, to sustainable development in Africa, as reflected in concrete structured projects and ambitious strategic initiatives for the development of the continent that should take its progress into its own hands. The most recent example of these projects is the Atlantic Initiative, which envisages African economic integration and will enable many countries on the continent to access the ocean with the required strategic and structured infrastructure, which will undoubtedly be centered around energy.

Thank you for your keen listening.”