« We commend and welcome the international initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI aimed at promoting access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, and emphasize the urgent need to address substantial infrastructure and investment in the Atlantic region of Africa, » said the Speakers and representatives of the Senate, Shoora and Equivalent Councils, and Regional and Continental Parliamentary Unions in Africa, the Arab World and Latin American in the Final Declaration of the conference.
They highly valued the pioneering role played by the Kingdom of Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in launching and supporting all development and solidarity initiatives aimed at sustaining South-South cooperation.
This initiative, which aims to establish a robust institutional framework bringing together the 23 countries of the continent bordering the Atlantic Ocean, will position Morocco’s Atlantic coast a pivotal hub for bolstering logistical connectivity among the countries of the South by both maritime and air routes, they stressed.
Enhancing logistical connectivity will facilitate the exchange of goods, stimulate investment flows in the countries of the South and significantly shorten the distance between wealth-generating production chains and the sources of raw materials, particularly in the Afro-Arab-Latin American geo-economic areas, where global resources and raw materials are concentrated, added the final declaration.
The parliamentarians also called for “such initiatives to serve as catalysts for strengthening South-South coordination, cooperation and solidarity » between the countries of Africa, the Arab world, Latin America and the Caribbean at bilateral, regional and inter-regional levels, particularly in areas linked to food, energy and health sovereignty and security, economic exchanges, sustainable development, coordination and consultation through permanent institutional channels.
The Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation, held under the High patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, took place in Rabat on Thursday and Friday under the theme: « the role of national parliaments and regional and continental parliamentary unions in Africa, the Arab world, and Latin America in promoting strategic partnerships and achieving integration and joint development. »
The Parliamentary Conference brought together more than 260 participants from 40 countries, including 30 speakers of national parliaments and regional and continental parliamentary unions from Africa, the Arab world, Latin America and the Caribbean.
