Upper House Speaker Meets with Delegation of Italian Parliamentary Intergroup Supporting Autonomy Plan for Moroccan Sahara

The Speaker of the House of Advisors (upper house), Naama Mayara, met Friday with a delegation of the Italian parliamentary intergroup supporting the autonomy plan for the Moroccan Sahara, on a working visit to the Kingdom. During this meeting, Mayara welcomed the distinguished relations between Morocco and Italy, expressing the determination of the House of Advisors to strengthen cooperation ties with the Italian Senate, through the exchange of visits and expertise, coordination of positions and visions within international parliamentary bodies, as well as the revitalization of the friendship group and cooperation between the two Houses, which was recently renewed, said a statement of the upper House. Regarding the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, Mayara welcomed the creation of the Italian parliamentary intergroup in support of the autonomy plan for the Moroccan Sahara, which offers an opportunity to strengthen peace and security in the Mediterranean region. On this occasion, Mayara also invited the members of this group to visit the Southern Provinces in order to inquire about the economic, social and human rights development in these regions, to collect data that would help to form a clear idea on the subject and to convey the truths about the issue to public opinion in Italy, Europe and elsewhere. In addition, the upper House speaker underlined the seriousness of the security and political situation in the Sahel-Saharan region, where proliferate many militias without any control, stressing the need for joint action and coordination to address the security challenges that result from this worrying situation, and which does not only concern the region, but extends to the European neighborhood. The meeting was also an opportunity for Mayara to highlight the persistence of the humanitarian drama of detained populations in the camps of Tindouf, as well as the repression, misery and rupture of family ties that these populations in these camps endure. In this regard, he called on the Italian parliamentarians to help end this crisis, especially in the wake of the detour of European humanitarian aid bound for the camps of Tindouf, noting that these aids are resold in the markets of neighboring countries and their money used in particular in the financing of drug and human trafficking, whose effects reach Europe. For his part, the President of the Italian parliamentary intergroup noted that the main objective of this visit to Morocco is to support bilateral relations in various fields, welcoming, in this regard, Morocco’s realistic and concrete efforts. He also hailed the UN’s efforts, especially of the Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as his Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, to achieve a realistic and credible solution in a spirit of compromise to this issue, according to the statement.