The Summit of presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) members commended, on Friday, the Moroccan presidency for its efforts and active contribution to the Assembly’s bodies.
In the final declaration adopted at the end of the 17th session of the UfM Parliamentary Assembly, entitled “The Rabat Spirit”, the speakers of the parliaments welcomed the efforts made by Morocco during its term of office, praising the Kingdom’s significant parliamentary contribution, as a founding member, to the successful organization of the Bureau and Enlarged Bureau meetings, as well as the hosting and preparation of the Assembly’s 17th plenary session.
The PA-UfM members said they are deeply attached to the principles of peaceful coexistence and tolerance, and eager to preserve the cohesion and spirit of compromise that unite the Euro-Mediterranean peoples and motivate their joint parliamentary action, the declaration stresses.
They also stressed the need to pursue dialogue and consul
tation among parliaments and to strengthen the efforts already undertaken, with the aim of making the Mediterranean a prosperous space where peace, democracy, and co-development prevail.
In this spirit, they also recall the commitment expressed by Mediterranean parliamentarians to support on a parliamentary level and to endorse the implementation of commitments made, since the launch of the Barcelona Process in 1995, the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean in 2008, through the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum in 1998 followed by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly in 2004, and the PA-UfM in 2010.
The presidents of the PA-UfM members called for the economic dimension to be given top priority within the UfM through encouraging free trade and the development of investment projects in the region, particularly in key sectors for regional integration such as transport and energy connectivity.
They underscored the main pillars of Mediterranean parliamentary cooperation, namely political di
alogue, economic and cultural cooperation, and human, social and cultural dialogue, and stressed the importance of repositioning cooperation and partnership through structuring and innovative projects in areas of common interest.
They recalled their duty to consider the expectations and people’s concerns in terms of climate change, health security, migration issues, human trafficking, organized crime, terrorism, separatism, and all security challenges that require a common Euro-Mediterranean action.
The presidents of the PA-UfM members welcome the EU-Jordan Co-Presidency initiated by the Union for the Mediterranean and applauded the candidacy of the Kingdom of Morocco for this role, which is expected to provide a new impetus to Euro-Mediterranean integration.
Regarding the Palestinian question, they condemned the resurgence of violence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the human cost it is inflicting, insisting on the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, in full compliance with internation
al humanitarian law, and the liberation of all innocent civilians.
They expressed, in this connection, their rejection of forcible displacement of Palestinians, calling for an adequate, safe and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid destined to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, while reiterating the urgent need to reactivate the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to promote the search for a comprehensive solution to the Middle East question, one that is just and lasting, and which can create a political horizon conducive to the establishment of two States living side by side in peace and harmony.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse