Upper House Speaker Holds Talks with Mercosur Parliament President on Economic, Parliamentary Cooperation

Speaker of the House of Councillors Enaam Mayara held talks, Friday in Rabat, with the President of the Parliament of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), Ruben Anibal Bacigalupe, on strengthening parliamentary and economic cooperation. The meeting, which took place in the presence of members of the Mercosur parliamentary bureau, was an opportunity to exchange views on ways of implementing the memorandum of understanding signed in November 2022 in Rabat between the two parliamentary institutions, strengthening the ties of cooperation between the two parties and exploiting the opportunities offered in the African, Mediterranean and Latin American zones, the Upper House said in a press release. On this occasion, Mayara stressed the need to accelerate the pace of joint action to implement this agreement, through a defined roadmap, proposing, in this regard, the creation of a parliamentary economic forum as a suitable framework for dialogue and partnership between businessmen from both parties, with a view to creating a free trade zone between Morocco and Mercosur, according to the same source. Mayara recalled that the Kingdom has opted for South-South cooperation in order to consolidate relations between peoples and promote cooperation in various fields offering real opportunities for economic integration and trade. The House of Councillors, he affirmed, “is determined to forge ahead on this path, under the impetus of HM King Mohammed VI, whose historic visit to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean gave a strong boost to relations between the two parties.” Mayara also underlined the active presence of the Moroccan Parliament “as a truly reliable partner” in the various parliamentary groupings in Latin America and the Caribbean, adding that Mercosur countries can take advantage of Morocco’s strategic position as an essential gateway to Africa, to strengthen their economic and trade relations with these countries, “especially as the Kingdom is the leading investor in this promising continent.” He also stressed the need to further strengthen cooperation between the two parties to serve the common interests of all parties, within the framework of the Parliamentary Forum of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean (AFROLAC), whose next session is scheduled for October in Morocco.