Youssoufi re-elected International Socialist vice-president

Moroccan premier and first secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP) Abderrahmane Youssoufi was unanimously re-elected vice-president of the International Socialist (IS) during the 21st IS congress.

The IS presidium, the IS executive branch, elected Portuguese Premier Antonio Guterres president of the organization in replacement of the French Pierre Mauroy.

The 21st congress that is to wind up this Wednesday was marked by the adhesion of twelve new members including the Palestinian Fatah movement and the African National Congress of South Africa.

On the sidelines of the congress, Youssoufi conferred with several socialist leaders including the Portuguese, the British, the Malian, the Israeli, the Italian and the Dutch prime ministers, the German chancellor, and the secretary general of the Spanish labor party.

Youssoufi held other side meetings with the first secretary of the Senegalese Socialist Party, Ousmane Tanor Dieng, president of the Algerian socialist forces front Hussein Ait Ahmed, and Fatah representative Hani Al-Hassan.

Talks covered a set of issues related to peace and security in Africa, development questions and the issue of debts that cripple development efforts.

The IS congress held in the French capital city this November 8-10 is attended by delegates of some 130 political parties and organizations.