Speaker of the House of Councilors, Enaam Mayara, held talks, Tuesday in Rabat, with the Speaker of the Canadian Senate, George J. Furey, currently on a working visit to Morocco at the head of an important parliamentary delegation.
According to a statement from the House of Councilors, this meeting was an opportunity for Mayara and Furey to discuss the excellent Moroccan-Canadian relations and ways to strengthen these relations in several areas, including through the resumption of joint parliamentary action.
After providing an overview of the Moroccan parliamentary system and the role of the House of Councilors in the establishment of the institutional structure, Mayara highlighted the importance of political relations between Morocco and Canada, which date back to 1962.
In this regard, the Upper House Speaker expressed his desire to further strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the House of Councillors and the Canadian Senate, through the activation of friendship and cooperation groups in the two institutions, and the exchange of expertise in areas of common interest.
Mayara highlighted the coordination between Morocco and Canada in international and regional forums, countering terrorism and climate change, as well as economic relations and trade which are in steady growth, stressing that there are promising opportunities to expand these relations, particularly in the fields of phosphates, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and renewable energy.
Mayara also expressed the House of Councilors’ desire to effectively support the government’s efforts to develop and strengthen the development of economic and commercial aspects of bilateral relations, in light of its structure, which includes a strong presence of entrepreneurs and businessmen.
The Moroccan parliamentarian also noted the importance of promoting parliamentary support for the establishment of a free trade area between Morocco and Canada, emphasizing the importance of strengthening relations in the educational, training, and cultural fields.
For his part, Furey praised the good relations, established over 60 years ago, between Morocco and Canada, affirming that Canada attaches particular importance to the development of these relations in all fields linking the two allied countries.
Furey also stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral dialogue and increasing the exchange of parliamentary visits to explore new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of trade economy, science, and culture.
This meeting was marked by the presence of the first Deputy Speaker of the House of Councillors, Mohamed Hanine, the second Deputy Speaker, Fouad Kadiri, the fourth Deputy Speaker, El Mehdi Atmoun, the treasurers of the House of Councilors, Abdelilah Hifdi and Miloud Maasid, President of the Moroccan-Canadian Friendship Group in the House of Councilors, Abdelilah Lefhal, the Honorary Consul in the Southern region of Canada, Mohamed Aziz Bouslikhane, and the Secretary-General of the House of Councilors, El Assad Zerouali.