Moroccan speaker holds talks on sidelines of parliamentary conference

Speaker of the house of representatives (lower house of the Moroccan parliament), Abdelouhaed Radi, who is taking part in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference of Presiding Officers, held at the United Nations headquarters, held side talks with his Arab, Islamic, African and European peers.

Radi also conferred with the chairwoman of the IPU council, Mrs Rajya Sabha (India) and with the union's secretary general Anders B. Johnson (Sweden).

Talks focused on the topics on the agenda of the conference and the globalization challenges thrown at the IPU.

Radi told MAP that his talks with his various interlocutors were positive and fruitful and that all the parliamentary officers he met have voiced readiness to bolster cooperation with Morocco and expressed admiration to the political changes operated by the Kingdom as well as the socio-economic development reached in various fields.

The IPU Conference is taking place on the eve of the General Assembly's Millennium Summit, which is expected to draw over 150 heads of State and Government to the UN next week. 150 speakers of national parliaments are taking part in the conference.

In his address before the conference on Wednesday, Radi called for the consolidation of dialog and cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU to serve the interests of humankind and take up the challenges of the 21st century.

Radi said the UN and the IPU which muster the same states, share the same ideals and principles, seek the same goals and adopt the same strategies to fulfil these goals should join efforts to fight plagues such as wars, famine, diseases and ignorance and promote trust, cooperation, prosperity, solidarity and development.