Speaker of the House of Representatives and Speaker of the French National Assembly Preside Over the Closing Ceremony of the Morocco-EU Institutional Twinning Project

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, and Speaker of the French National Assembly, Hon. Yaël Braun-Pivet, chaired on Friday, December 13, 2024, at Seat of the House in Rabat, the closing ceremony of the Morocco-EU Institutional Twinning Project (April 29, 2022 - December 28, 2024), funded by the European Union and involving the French National Assembly, as the primary partner, and the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the Belgian Chamber of Representatives as the secondary partners, with the support of the Parliaments of Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Portugal.

In his speech on the occasion, the Speaker of the House of Representatives reiterated his thanks to the European Union, who financed this project, which is part of the support for democracy and a testament to the effectiveness of the multidimensional strategic partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union.

Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami stressed that the Twinning Project focused on covering current issues related to strengthening parliamentary governance and democracy. The project also sought to produce sustainable documents such as practical guides, and diagnose and analyze practices in the eight partnering institutions. In the same respect, the Speaker added that one of the perks of this project is that it addressed the issues originally identified by the twinning documents, according to a benchmarking methodology, taking into account the practice of each twinning partner country.

The Speaker also pointed out that the project covered new competences and issues in parliamentary practices, such as ex-anted and ex-post public policy evaluation, the assessment of the implementation of laws, impact studies, gender equality in elected institutions, exchange of experiences, and mutual exploration of the practices that facilitate women's access to representative and executive decision-making positions.

During the ceremony, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami expressed the readiness of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco to engage in all sharing projects and explore new horizons for parliamentary partnership based on new issues, to keep pace with the roles of parliaments in meeting the challenges faced by our countries and the international community in general.

For her part, the Speaker of the French National Assembly, Hon. Yaël Braun-Pivet, stressed the strength of the relations between France and the Kingdom of Morocco, which took on a new dimension with the launch of the “Extraordinary Enhanced Partnership” by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist him, and the French President, H.E. Emmanuel Macron.

The Speaker of the French National Assembly reiterated, on behalf of the national representation, France's position that the present and future of the Sahara fall under the Moroccan sovereignty, adding that “the National Assembly will play its full role in supporting the remarkable development of the region, together with French operators and companies.”

On the other hand, Mr. Daniele Dotto, Deputy Chief of Mission of the European Union to Morocco, reiterated the EU's commitment to this parliamentary partnership, stressing the role of parliaments in achieving equality and spreading democratic values. He also recalled the depth of relations between the EU and Morocco, which date back more to than 40 years, calling in this context to work to create new partnerships to consolidate further progress and development.

For her part, the Chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Rep. Els Van Hoof, stressed that the Moroccan House of Representatives has met and respected all the objectives set out in the twinning project, noting that the activation of the cooperation relationship between the legislative institutions in the two countries was based on a participatory approach to value parliamentary work, contribute to the drafting of the code of ethics, enrich the cultural and linguistic aspect, and support the participation of women parliamentarians in decision-making.

The Vice Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly, MP Hajnalka Juhász, expressed her gratitude for the effective and leading role of the House of Representatives within the framework of this twinning, stressing the strength of the historical diplomatic relations between the two countries within the framework of mutual respect and cooperation.

MP Maria Chatzioannidou, member of the Standing Committee on Equality, Youth, and Human Rights at the Hellenic Parliament, commended the depth of Morocco-Greece relations that are characterized by shared cultural and historical values. She also stressed the commitment of the Hellenic Parliament to provide expertise and engage in constructive cooperation with the Moroccan House of Representatives.

On the same occasion, the Chairperson of the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Subcommittee of the Parliament of the Republic of Portugal, MP Elza Pais, praised the results achieved over the last five years. In the same vein, she expressed her pride in the relations between the countries involved in the twinning project, highlighting Portugal's experience in the field of equality and women's empowerment to achieve a gender-equal society.

For his part, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Rabat, H.E. Ladislav Skerik, praised the institutional twinning project, which is the pride of the Czech Republic as it embodies the depth of the strong bilateral relations between the two countries. He also underscored the importance of the twinning project in instilling effectiveness and professionalism into parliamentary action, calling for continued joint work to strengthen and deepen cooperation relations.

The closing ceremony of the Morocco-EU Institutional Twinning Project featured the presence of the members of the Board of the House of Representatives and the chairpersons of the Parliamentary Groups And Caucus.