Summary of the Address of Mr. Habib El Malki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on the Opening Day of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development (COMPSUD)
Summary of the Address of Mr. Habib El Malki
Speaker of the House of Representatives
On the Opening Day of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development (COMPSUD)
On the opening day of the fourteenth meeting of the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development (COMPSUD) on Tuesday, December 17th, 2019 at the premises of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives Habib El Malki affirmed that Morocco was leader in putting sustainable development at the heart of its public policies. He said, “since the 1960s, our country has adopted a water policy first of its kind in the world, based on constructing dams, storing water resources and directing them towards where needed, and rehabilitating farmlands, which ensured water security and diverse agricultural production.”
El Malki also pointed out that Morocco currently intensifies the processes of water filling and develops a leading agricultural model thanks to the Green Morocco Plan, which allowed an increase in production, profit, and the agrarian added-value. This has contributed to ensuring food security and improving incomes.
He also noted the regression of humid coastal regions in the Mediterranean to the point of extinction, which "has been affecting the ecosystem and its balance and threatens the existence of several species and plants."
He added that there should be an increase in investing in the generation of renewable energies, development of the equipment used for this purpose, and intensification of scientific research in this area, saying that “Morocco is pioneer in producing green energy, a constituent of green economy for which ambitious strategies and plans were elaborated to meet the energy needs.”
El Malki drew attention to the thematic group established by the House of Representatives, whose mission is to provide suggestions in legislation and public policies concerning the promotion of generating renewable energies and their possible uses.
He also expressed his certitude on that the convergence of approaches of the parliamentarians, as one side, as they legislate and control the government and the public policies; and experts as a second side, and government officials and representatives of world organizations as a third side, will permit the formulation of proposals and approaches applicable to public policies on national, regional, and global levels.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives added that the Parliamentarians are in a perfect position to play a decisive role in legislation, and pushing governments towards adopting appropriate environmental and developmental policies, and also to mobilize the public opinion and sensitize the civil society of the good cause of preserving the environment, the proper use and storage of water resources, and the promotion of sustainable development.
El Malki expressed, again, his certitude that the Circle of Mediterranean Parliamentarians for Sustainable Development assumes a decisive role for transnational measures and policies in the Mediterranean region, highlighting the importance of focusing the use of technology in advancing agriculture in all Mediterranean countries and Africa, and making of this a central topic in the proceedings of national parliaments and multilateral meetings. He also called for facilitation of transportation of desalination technologies and constructing dams to impound water and provide strategic reserves of it, in addition to intensifying farming while preserving lands, which allow a sustainable development that has Man as its focus.
He also requested soliciting donor countries and bodies to meet their commitments in favor of the developing countries affected by climate change, putting agriculture, livestock, and fishery at the heart of the national strategies for development, promoting the use of fertilizers for more production, making of agriculture a valuable source for income and dignified employment, and facilitating the ownership of technologies used in transporting, packaging and valuing agricultural products all over the world.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Habib El Malki concluded his address calling the participants to restore the spirit of the Mediterranean as a space of coexistence, solidarity, synergy, peace, and unity, to face the challenges that might reproduce poverty, marginalization, the aggravation of social and sectoral disparities, and the social disunion and instability that might result from it. He also called for sharing the skills, technologies, and techniques that facilitate a cleaner, faster, and sustainable production.