South-South Cooperation: Andean Parliament’s New President Hails HM the King’s Pioneering Initiatives

Rabat - The new President of the Andean Parliament, Gustavo Pacheco, expressed his high esteem for the pioneering initiatives undertaken by His Majesty King Mohammed VI with the aim of strengthening South-South cooperation and fostering closer ties between Latin American countries and their Arab and African counterparts.During a meeting in Cusco (Peru) with the House of Councillors' representative in the Andean Parliament, Abdelkader Salama, Pacheco, who was unanimously elected on Friday as new President of this parliamentary body, stated that Morocco, through its positioning and status as a leader in the promotion of South-South cooperation, is setting itself up as a reliable gateway to the African continent for Andean countries in particular and Latin America in general, says the House of Councillors in a press release.The President of the Andean Parliament also hailed the pioneering role played by the Moroccan Parliament in strengthening relations with the countries of the Andean community, expressing his pride in the presence of Moroccan parliamentarians at the work of the General Assembly of the Andean Parliament, notes the same source.This presence, he said, was of great importance in that it provided an opportunity to learn about Morocco's pioneering experience in the fields of renewable energies and water policy, as well as the national immigration and asylum strategy aimed at integrating migrants and managing migration-related issues.For his part,. Salama hailed the noble positions and sentiments expressed by Pacheco with regard to the Kingdom and its leadership under the enlightened guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, highlighting the distinguished relations uniting the Moroccan and Andean parliaments.The Moroccan parliamentarian also reaffirmed the determination of all the components of the two Houses to translate the distinguished course of relations between the Moroccan legislative institution and its Andean counterpart into action plans and a roadmap with clear mechanisms and objecti ves.Presenting the highlights of her term of office, the outgoing president of the Andean parliament, Cristina Hidalgo, expressed her great pride in taking part in the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation and the Economic Parliamentary Forum of the Euro-Mediterranean region and the Gulf, two events held by the House of Councillors under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, underlining the importance of these two initiatives in opening up spaces for dialogue between Latin American, Arab and African parliaments.The Moroccan and Andean parliaments had signed, in July 2018, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at establishing channels of parliamentary communication and interaction through the exchange of visits, experiences, information and documents.By virtue of this MoU, the Moroccan parliament enjoys the status of advanced partner with this parliamentary organization.The Andean Parliament is a parliamentary organization created in 1979 to harmonize legislation and acc elerate integration between the member countries of this group. The organization is made up of 25 elected members, including five parliamentarians from each country (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile).Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse