Moroccan, Salvadoran MPs call for consolidating cooperation between Africa, Maghreb, Latin America

Moroccan and Salvadoran MPs on Wednesday called, during a meeting held by video conference, to raise all bilateral partnerships to consolidate cooperation between Africa, the Maghreb and Latin America.

This meeting was chaired on the Moroccan side by the Chairwoman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Islamic Affairs and Moroccans Abroad in the House of Representatives, Nadia Bouaida, and on the Salvadoran side by the Chairwoman of the Foreign Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of El Salvador, Ana Magdalena Figueroa.

This event, in which both Commissions took part, was an opportunity to discuss many issues of common interest, led by the strengthening of bilateral and multilateral relations. It was also an opportunity to discuss development opportunities and deepen cooperation between African, Arab and Latin American countries.

In this context, Bouaida said that relations between Morocco and El Salvador have developed significantly over the past ten years, as a result of their great understanding and the alignment of their visions and positions on many regional and international issues.

This development is reflected in the dynamics that characterize bilateral cooperation at all levels, she stressed.

Thanks to the firm will of King Mohammed VI and the President of the Republic of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, the two countries have managed to overcome the obstacles that hindered their rapprochement, the most important of which was the previous position of El Salvador vis-à-vis the Moroccan Sahara issue, she noted.

The revision of El Salvador’s position on the Moroccan Sahara, through the revocation of the recognition of the so-called ‘sadr’, has been a major turning point in bilateral relations, said Bouaida.

The Moroccan elected official called for the institutionalization of bilateral and multilateral parliamentary relations, and to advance them on the path of the emerging and distinguished friendship between the Moroccan, Salvadoran, Caribbean, and Central American parliaments.

“In Morocco, we believe that the deepening of cooperation between Latin American, African and Arab countries can promote opportunities for development and democracy, contribute to the establishment of security and peace in the world and maintain the ecological balance while ensuring the sustainability of natural wealth and resources,” she said.

To do this, it is necessary to hold regular meetings between political and economic actors, and those of civil society in both countries, added Ms. Bouaida.

For her part, Magdalena Figueroa welcomed the level of bilateral relations, which have experienced a significant dynamic in recent years, marked by the concordance of views on several regional and international issues, especially during the tenure of Bukele, emphasizing the need to raise these relations to the highest levels in all areas.

By its role as a central political and economic player on the African continent, Morocco represents a link between Latin America and Africa, said the elected Salvadoran, expressing the willingness of his country to continue strengthening its cooperation with the Kingdom and take advantage of the important assets of the two countries in several areas.

In this sense, Magdalena Figueroa stressed that it is “very important” to take advantage of the successful experiences accumulated by Morocco in various areas, including legislation, environment, energy, food security, immigration and the inclusion of women and youth in the political arena, calling for the establishment of a bilateral parliamentary work agenda that aims to strengthen the exchange of expertise and best practices to serve the interests of both countries.