PARLACEN President Hails HM the King’s Leadership in South-South Cooperation

President of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), Silvia Garcia, hailed, in Marrakech on Thursday, the “leadership role” of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in the terms of South-South cooperation. Speaking at the opening of the second edition of the Marrakech Economic Parliamentary Forum for the Euro-Mediterranean region and the Gulf, initiated by the House of Councillors and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Garcia highlighted the Atlantic initiative launched by the Sovereign to promote access to the Atlantic Ocean for Sahel countries. During this two-day event, held under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, the MP hailed the Kingdom’s desire to lay the foundations for “fruitful and creative” South-South cooperation, highlighting several aspects of cooperation between the Moroccan and Central American parliaments since 2015, which led to several “valuable” initiatives, including the creation of the Congress of Afro-Latin American Parliamentary Unions (AFROLAC). In this context, Garcia praised Morocco’s “active” role as an observer member of PARLACEN, noting that in addition to political support, Morocco’s role is also evident in the forum on climate change, and the Kingdom’s active participation in the regional meeting of women from political parties in Central America and the Caribbean. She added that PARLACEN is hoping for Morocco’s support in holding a forum on migration, given the Kingdom’s experience and good practice in the area, as well as its status as a transit and host country for migration and a gateway to Africa and Europe. With regard to renewable energies, she said that in light of Morocco’s accumulated experience in this field, PARLACEN had decided to seek the Kingdom’s “valuable” support by appointing an expert to the benefit of the bloc nations. The Marrakech Forum represents an ideal opportunity for parliamentarians and founding partners of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean to interact with political and economic stakeholders from public and private sectors, as well as with academia and civil society. The second edition will focus on two main themes, namely “the transition to green energy” and “supporting entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises in this process.”