On 1 March 2023, The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean opens its 17th Plenary Session, hosted by the House of Councilors of the Kingdom of Morocco, in Rabat.
In his speech at the opening session, H.E. Mr. Enaam Mayara, President of the House of Councillors of the Kingdom of Morocco, welcomed the participants in the meeting stating that there is the need to establish an open dialogue and act with solidarity to address common challenges in PAM regions in a current situation marked by post-pandemic, economic crises, wars and conflicts.
H.E. Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, President of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, also delivered a welcoming speech, highlighting the importance of the objectives PAM’s countries are pursuing just and enlarging peace, end of terrorism and its causes, economic prosperity and protection of human rights.
PAM President, Hon. Pedro Roque opened the Plenary Session by highlighting the repercussions of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, reminding “the fundamental role of parliamentarians in fostering understanding and dialogue among nations, even for those without diplomatic relations”.
PAM President Emeritus, H.E. Mr. Abdewahed Radi, also contributed to the opening ceremony by stressing the need to keep important frameworks: “The challenges that motivated the creation of PAM thirty years ago are still there, we have to persevere”.
Finally, the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. António Guterres, intervened from New York, thanking the work of PAM for always giving importance to the rule of law to “ensure the respect of the UN Charter, human rights and economic development”.
Several Presidents of Parliaments participated in the opening debate: among them, H.E. Daniela Durović, President of the Parliament of Montenegro; H.E. Mohamed Abou El Enein, PAM President Emeritus and Deputy Speaker (Egypt); H.E. Hamda Hassa Al-Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker on behalf of H.E. Mr. Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Shura Council (Qatar); and H.E. Dr. Jehad Abdulla Alfadhel, Second Deputy Chairman of the Shura council (Kingdom of Bahrain).
The first day of the Plenary Session proceeded with the presentation of the work of the 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilizations and Human Rights, and that of the 2nd Standing Committee on Economic, Social, and Environmental Cooperation. Activities to be organized by the two committees for 2023 were also reviewed during the meetings.//