Pan-African Parliament (PAP) President, H.E. Hon. Chief Fortune Zephania Charumbira is leading a delegation of the continental Parliament to the Kingdom of Morocco for an official visit at the invitation of the Moroccan Parliament. The visit is taking place from 24 to 27 September 2022.
The President of the PAP and his delegation are expected to hold consultations with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Rachidd Talbi Alami and the Speaker of the House of Councilors, Rt. Hon. Naam Miyara. A meeting is also scheduled with the Moroccan delegation to the Pan-African Parliament.
Additionally, the official visit will include engagements with Moroccan government officials, whose portfolios are of key interest to Permanent Committees of the PAP. In this regard, the delegation will pay courtesy calls on the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries and Rural Development, and the Minister of Economy and Finance. These meetings will seek to draw lessons from the Moroccan developmental model and explore synergies to strengthen the PAP’s oversight, advisory and consultative functions, through the work of its committees.
The President of the legislative organ of the African Union (AU) says that the official visit forms part of the Bureau’s commitment to enhance the visibility of the institution on the continent and strengthen bilateral relations with all AU Member States. H.E. Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira further indicates that the mission in Morocco is in line with a core function of the continental Parliament, which provides for cooperation with regional and national parliaments for the ratification and integration of treaties adopted by the AU into national legal systems.
“The establishment of the PAP is informed by a vision to provide a common platform for African peoples and their grass-roots organizations to be more involved in discussions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent. Our visit to Morocco, at the invitation of National Parliament, therefore forms part of a series of missions to be conducted across various AU Member States to regain the confidence of the African citizenry and reclaim our place in the continental governance matrix,” says H.E. Hon. Charumbira.
Other key elements of the official visit entail a planned public lecture by the President of the PAP at Mohamed V University in Rabat. The PAP delegation is further scheduled to tour various sites including the Tangier Mediterranean Port, the Mausoleum of the Late His Majesty Mohamed V as well as Mohamed VI Football Compound in the Moroccan capital.
The PAP delegation to the Kingdom of Morocco is comprised of 1st Vice President, Hon. Prof. Massouda Mohamed Laghdaf (Mrs.); 2nd Vice President, Hon. Dr Ashebiri Gayo; 3rd Vice President, Hon. Lúcia dos Passos (Mrs) and 4th Vice President, Hon. Francois Ango Ndoutoume. Other members of the delegation include Hon. Terrence Mondon (Seychelles) Chairperson of the Eastern Africa Caucus; Hon. Dr. Sherif El-Gabaly (Egypt), Chairperson of the Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution; Hon. Kumbi Lomi Bedo (Ethiopia), Rapporteur of the Committee on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution; Hon. McHenry Venaani (Namibia), Member of the PAP Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters and Chief Advisor to the President of PAP; Hon. Kampamba S. Mulenga (Zambia), Member of the PAP Committee on Rules and Privileges; and Hon. Thandi Z. Motsa (Eswatini), Member of the PAP Committee on Transport.
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