Friday, September 20, 2024 at 4:27 p.m.
Johannesburg – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami, held bilateral talks with the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa, Angela Thokozile Didiza, in Johannesburg on Friday.
At the beginning, Mr. El Alami congratulated Mrs. Didiza on her election as head of the South African legislative institution and invited her to visit Morocco, at the head of a parliamentary delegation from his country, to strengthen the relations of cooperation between the Parliaments of the two countries.
He also recalled Morocco’s pioneering role in supporting liberation movements in Africa, recalling the invaluable support provided by Rabat to Pretoria to free itself from the yoke of colonialism.
Mr. Talbi El Alami also expressed the willingness of the Kingdom of Morocco to develop fruitful cooperation with South Africa and to expand it to several promising sectors.
“Morocco and South Africa are two large and influential countries in Africa and must therefore take advantage of their comparative advantages to strengthen their cooperation, in the service of their peoples and the entire continent, with a view to complementarity,” he declared.
In the same vein, the Moroccan official highlighted the many strategic projects launched by Morocco in different areas, thanks to the wise and forward-looking Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. He cited, as an example, the ambitious Africa-Atlantic royal initiative aimed at allowing certain African countries to access the Atlantic Ocean, the development of renewable energies, the automobile industry, aeronautics, new technologies, the promotion of the human element, the fight against climate change and agriculture.
“Morocco is willing to share its expertise and experience with South Africa in many areas,” he said, recalling that the Kingdom is one of the major exporters of citrus fruits to the European Union and sub-Saharan Africa.
For her part, the President of the South African Parliament thanked Mr. Talbi El Alami for the invitation extended to her to visit Morocco.
Mrs. Didiza then reviewed her country’s democratic experience, recalling the recent general elections held on May 29, which did not give an absolute majority to any political party.
“After discussions and negotiations, the choice was finally made to form a government of national unity,” she stressed.
In this regard, she welcomed Morocco’s democratic experience and expressed the desire to develop fruitful bilateral cooperation with the Kingdom.
The discussions between Mr. El Alami and Ms. Didiza took place on the sidelines of the 12th Annual Conference of Speakers of African Parliaments, which is being held from September 18 to 20 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In addition to Mr. Talbi El Alami, the Moroccan Parliament is represented at the September session of the PAP by Laila Dahi of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), Khadija Arouhal of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), Abdessamad Haiker of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) and Hanaa Benkhair of the General Union of Workers of Morocco (UGTM).
