Vice-speaker of Venezuelan senate in Morocco

The vice-speaker of the Venezuelan senate, Julio Castillo Sagarzoze, is currently visiting Morocco at the invitation of the Moroccan Chamber of advisors (Upper house of the Parliament) Sagarzoze held talks with moroccan Mps that focused on means to consolidate ties between the two countries' parliaments.

The Venezuelan official was briefed on the latest developments of the sahara issue and the steps covered in the implementation of the U.N settlement plan providing for the holding of a referendum in the Moroccan Southern provinces, that were formerly under Spanish rule.

These provinces were retrieved by Morocco in 1975, but their sovereignty is claimed by an Algerian-backed guerilla movement, the polisario.

The Venezuelan parliament set up in 1996 a MoroccoVenezuela friendship group that endeavors to consolidate dialogue between the two legislative bodies