Rabat Declaration Issued at Conclusion of the Congress of the Future

Declaration of the Congress of the Future, Rabat Session

"For an international cooperation that serves the future"

The House of Representatives and the House of Councilors of the Kingdom of Morocco, in cooperation with the "Future Encounters Foundation" and the Chamber of Deputies and Senate of the Republic of Chile, organized in Rabat, the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, on December 17-18, 2024, the proceedings of the "Congress of the Future," which featured the participation of ministers, parliamentarians, and academics from both countries and other friendly countries, in addition to Moroccan research students.

The participants in the Congress,

Expressing their sincere gratitude to the  Kingdom of Morocco for the hospitality and welcome, and for hosting this prominent event;

Expressing their heartfelt thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI and lauding his vision and leadership of the Kingdom of Morocco as a trustworthy partner in reinforcing global cooperation and dialogue, anchoring sustainable development, and facilitating the exchange of knowledge;

Extending their thanks to the Moroccan Parliament for its institutional support and pivotal role in successfully organizing this Congress, out of commitment to fruitful dialogue and keenness to contribute to advocating for just global causes, as was reflected by the organization and success of this Congress, as well as other initiatives of high regional and international importance;

Following two days of debates and presentations where the participants tackled timely and highly important questions, such as climate imbalances, energy transition, artificial intelligence and its social repercussions, the future challenges in health, food security, the challenge of achieving gender equality, and the requirements in terms of intensifying and joining efforts at the bilateral and multilateral levels to address these common challenges facing humanity;

Amidst a global context marked with geopolitical tensions and multidimensional crises, with all their catastrophic impacts on humans and development in several regions of the world,

• Affirm the importance of the Africa-Latin America strategic partnership for development and progress within the scope of South-South cooperation, and the role of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Chile in contributing, from their positions, to reinforcing it and giving it practical dimensions to address the global challenges from a South-South cooperation.

• Stress the importance and role of the "Congress of the Future" as a prominent space for dialogue and joint reflection in a world full of complexities and changes through strengthening convergence and partnership between national parliaments, regional and international parliamentary organizations, universities, and civil society.

Amidst the acceleration of events and reproduction of international conflicts, the participants in the Congress underscore the importance of dialogue between all the components of the international community to find innovative solutions that ensure good governance, serve the common interests of the components of the international community, and contribute to building a sustainable future where everyone enjoys the potential, knowledge, innovations, and wealth it offers.

The participants reaffirm their commitment to pursuing cooperation to move forward in seeking innovative solutions and constructing a better future for the next generations within the scope of coexistence and respect of others and their culture.

• In this vein, the participants in the Congress underscore the imperative of constructing peace and achieving security while abiding by the international law and its cornerstone that is respecting the sovereignty of countries, their territorial integrity and unity, anchoring international legitimacy, and preventing crises and conflicts that undermine stability, development, and coexistence.

• Call on the powers concerned with international climate decision-making to take the necessary urgent measures to subvert the indices of greenhouse gas emissions, facilitating the acquisition by African and Latin American countries of green economy technologies, producing energy from renewable sources, encouraging the mobilization and rational use of water worldwide, and promoting water desalination in a way that contributes to creating grand agricultural projects that ensure food security.

• In the same sense, they call for facilitating the transfer of technologies to the countries of the two continents in order to enable them to sustainably exploit agricultural lands, provide food, and hence contribute to guaranteeing local and global food security. They also call for inscribing combatting sea and ocean pollution as a priority on the international climate agenda.

• Concerning migration and displacement, the participants stress the imperative of sticking to the core of the Global Compact for Migration adopted by the International Government Conference held in Marrakesh on December 10, 2018 and ratified by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2018, particularly as regards a safe, orderly, and regular migration that guarantees the rights of migrants.

• Noting the great potential offered by technological innovations, particularly artificial intelligence, in economy, services, knowledge, and management, the participants in the Congress of the Future stress the imperative of remaining alert to the threats posed by artificial intelligence if it remains uncontrolled, as well as the huge digital gap in this technology between the North and South, the dangers of misusing technology on the family fabric, the inheritance and accumulation of knowledge, and the role and functions of the human element. In the same vein, they call for accelerating the establishment of international governance in managing the uses and content of artificial intelligence and informational evolution.

• Recalling the disasters humanity endured because of Covid-19, they call for facilitating the transfer of vital technologies and pharmaceutical and vaccine industries to the countries of the South, particularly in Africa and Latin America, and lifting the restrictions that inhibit the acquisition by these countries of the technologies and primary material used in the production of vaccines and drugs. In this same matter, they commend the initiatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in implementing projects to produce vaccines for Moroccans, and Africans in general.

Finally, the participants in the Congress call for inscribing reflection on the future and the challenges posed to humanity as converging questions on the agendas of the meetings and seminars organized by multilateral organizations, and taking them into account when elaborating national development plans and international cooperation.