Strengthening Ties with Latin America & the Caribbean, Strategic Choice in Favor of Regional Integration – Upper House Representative to Parlatino –
Strengthening relations with the Latin American and Caribbean region is of paramount importance to the House of Councillors, and forms part of the Kingdom’s strategic choice to support regional unions and integration and solidarity initiatives, particularly in the countries of the South, said Abderrahmane Ouafa, the upper house representative to the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino). Quoted in a statement issued by the legislative institution, Ouafa noted in a speech before members of the Parlatino executive board on Friday that this choice, led and supported by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, had been confirmed by the Sovereign’s fruitful and historic visit to the region in 2004, as well as by His diplomacy of solidarity and development on the African continent, the most recent incarnation of which is the Royal Initiative to enable Atlantic Ocean access for the Sahel States. Highlighting the important roles played by regional unions in establishing dialogue, cooperation, solidarity and the exchange of experiences and best practices, he expressed the pride of all the components of the House of Councillors in the development of relations between the Moroccan Parliament and the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament, particularly since the signing of the agreement on the accession of the Moroccan Parliament as a permanent observer member to the Parlatino, on April 27, 2018. Ouafa also noted that the fact of naming the Moroccan space at the Parlatino headquarters after His Majesty King Mohammed VI “has a profound symbolic meaning of the solidity and age of the relations that unite the Kingdom of Morocco with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and bears witness to the excellent level of the ties binding the Moroccan Parliament to the national and regional parliaments of the region”.