Johannesburg: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, Holds Talks with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, held talks on Friday, September 20, 2024, in Johannesburg, with the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of South Africa, Hon. Angela Thokozile Didiza. 

At the onset of the meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives congratulated Hon. Angela Thokozile Didiza on her election as Speaker of the National Assembly of her country and invited her to visit the Kingdom of Morocco at the lead of a parliamentary delegation to reinforce the cooperation links between the parliaments of the two countries. 

Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami also highlighted the leading role of Morocco in supporting the liberation movements in Africa, recalling the valuable support the Kingdom granted to South Africa to emancipate from occupation. 

Besides, he also noted the readiness of the Kingdom to develop fruitful cooperation with South Africa and expand it to cover several promising sectors, adding that "the Kingdom of Morocco and South Africa are two prominent countries in Africa and must hence exploit their capacities to reinforce cooperation with a view to serving their two countries and the whole continent according to an integrated approach."

Moreover, the Speaker of the House shed light on the strategic projects launched by the Kingdom in several areas thanks to the wise and foreseeing vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, noting, for instance, the ambitious Royal initiative that aims to enhance the access of the Sahel countries to the Atlantic, the projects of developing renewable energies, car manufacturing, aviation industry, modern technologies, agriculture, human development, and the fight against climate change. 

He also expressed the readiness of the Kingdom to share its experiences and expertise in several fields with South Africa, adding that the Kingdom is one of the leading suppliers of agricultural products to the European Union and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

For her part, the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa expressed her gratitude to the Speaker of the House for his invitation to visit the Kingdom. 

In the same regard, she gave an overview of the democratic experience in her country by mentioning the latest elections held on May 29, 2024. Hon. Angela Thokozile Didiza also lauded the democratic experience of the Kingdom, noting her readiness to develop fruitful bilateral cooperation with the Kingdom. 

The talks between the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the South African Parliament took place on the sidelines of the 12th Annual Conference of Speakers of Parliament, held from September 18 to 20 at PAP Seat in Midrand, South Africa.

In addition to Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, the Moroccan Parliament is represented at the PAP’s September session by Rep. Laila Dahi (Group of the National Rally of Independents), Rep. Khadija Arouhal (Group of Progress and Socialism), Rep. Abdessamad Haiker (Parliamentary Caucus of Justice and Development), and Cllr. Hanae Belkhir (Group of the General Union of Moroccan Workers). 

(Translated and adapted from MAP)