Morocco’s Upper House and several Latin American and Caribbean regional parliaments made public on Wednesday that they have signed a joint declaration to create a new Morocco-Latin America-Caribbean Economic Forum.
The forum is intended to strengthen strategic relations between the parties and establish a formal and permanent institutional framework for interregional parliamentary dialogue to foster cooperation and enhance joint action on issues of mutual interest, the Lower House announced in a statement.
Mohamed Ould Errachid, Upper House Speaker; Rolando Miguel González Patricio, Speaker of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino); Carlos Hernandez, Speaker of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen); Fabiana Martin, Speaker of the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur); and Gustavo Pacheco, Speaker of the Andean Parliament, signed the declaration at the King Mohammed VI Library in Panama City.
The signature is part of the ongoing cooperation between Morocco and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, based on mutual respect and consultation, the statement reads. “The declaration highlights Morocco’s geostrategic role in its regional environment as a key partner in Africa and a reliable gateway for Latin American and Caribbean countries to Africa and the Arab world.”
The Upper House also highlighted the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean as an influential economic bloc among Southern Hemisphere countries, as well as a strategic gateway for Morocco, with promising infrastructure and logistics.
The initiative is also strengthening parliamentary cooperation between the parties, as well as various joint initiatives led by Morocco’s Upper House.
Morocco hosted the secretariat of the Parliamentary Forum of African, Latin American, and Caribbean Countries (AFROLAC), to promote regional integration, economic development, and cultural understanding among Southern Hemisphere countries.