Strasbourg – The Council of Europe welcomes its cooperation with Morocco, “the most advanced country” in the Arab region in terms of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law, the Council’s chief said on Monday in Strasbourg.
Thorbjorn Jagland said he was satisfied with the progress of this cooperation action plan, launched last April for the period 2012-2014, which primarily focues on the promotion of the values of democracy, he said after a meeting with the head of the Moroccan government, Abdelilah Benkirane, on the sidelines of the World Forum for Democracy.
The Council of Europe has adopted this plan as part of its partnership with Morocco in promoting democracy, initiated since 2007 with the Kingdom’s accession to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and crowned by obtaining the status of “Partner for democracy”.
For his part, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon, said he was “very happy” that the Moroccan parliament is “the first to benefit from this new status.”
Mr Mignon, who is scheduled to pay an official visit to Morocco early December at the invitation of the Moroccan parliament, added that “Morocco fully honours its commitments with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council Europe, which makes it a model in the Arab world today.”
Mr Benkirane said he was particularly pleased that Morocco enjoys “a respectable standing” with European partners thanks to its democratic experience, consolidated, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, by the adoption of the new constitution.
“Our challenge is to build on this success and move forward,” he concluded.
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