The major challenges facing humanity today require the establishment of a new global order of cooperation founded on principles of justice and equity for all nations of the world, particularly those of the South, the Parliamentary Conference on South-South Cooperation stressed in a final declaration released in Rabat Friday. Participants in the conference called in the final declaration on the international community to promptly bolster confidence in global development cooperation pathways and to enhance international solidarity, with the aim of facilitating a significant developmental shift in countries of the South and narrowing the economic gap with the countries of the North. The participants also stressed the need to reinforce the endeavors of Arab, African and Latin American parliaments, including senates and equivalent councils, in all their pluralistic structures and enriched compositions, in order to enhance their oversight of government actions and compliance with national and international commitments, and to play their part in enacting legislation to promote economic and trade cooperation between Africa, the Arab world, Latin America and the countries of the South. The two-day conference, held under the high patronage of King Mohammed VI, focused on the “Role of National Parliaments and Regional and Continental Parliamentary Unions in Africa, the Arab World, and Latin America in Enhancing Strategic Partnerships and Achieving Joint Integration and Development.”The conference brought together over 260 participants from 40 countries, including 30 Speakers of national parliaments and regional and continental parliamentary unions. The meeting, held at the initiative of the Upper House of the Moroccan Parliament in collaboration with the Association of Senates, Shoora, and Equivalent Councils in Africa and Arab world (ASSECAA), is part of Morocco’s leadership in launching development and solidarity initiatives aimed at strengthening South-South cooperation.
