On 1 March 2023, The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean opens its 17th Plenary Session, generously hosted by the House of Councillors of the Kingdom of Morocco, in Rabat.
After the welcoming speeches of H.E. Mr. Enaam Mayara, President of the House of Councillors of Morocco, and H.E. Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, President of the House of Representatives of Morocco, and President of the Union for the Mediterranean, delegates will be addressed by H.E. Mr. Mustapha Baitas, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Relations with Parliament.
Consequently, Hon. Pedro Roque, PAM President, and H.E. Mr. Abdewahed Radi, PAM President Emeritus, will inaugurate the Session.
H.E. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, will also address a message to PAM MPs. Several Presidents of Parliaments will contribute to the opening session: among them,
H.E. Ms. Danijela Durović, Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, the President of the Senate of Eswatini, H.E. Mr. Lindiwe Dlamini; PAM President Emeritus and Deputy Speaker of Egypt, H.E. Mohamed Abou El Enein; H.E. Mr. Ahmad Ebrahim Khalaileh, First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jordan , H.E. Hamda bint Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker, of the Shura Council, on behalf of H.E. Mr. Hassan bin Abdulla Al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Shura Council; and H.E. Dr. Jehad Abdulla Alfadhel, Second Deputy Chairman of the Shura council (Kingdom of Bahrain).
The event is expected to be attended by more than 220 participants from 20 countries, regional and international organizations, civil society and the economic sector.
During the first day, debates will focus on the work conducted throughout 2022 by PAM’s 3rd Standing Committee on Dialogue among Civilizations and Human Rights, presided by Hon. Pedro Roque, and on PAM’s 2nd Standing Committee on Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation, presided by Hon. Karim Darwish (Egypt), President of PAM 2nd Standing Committee.
The main speakers for the day will include:
- H.E.Amina Bouayach, President of the National Human Rights Council (Kingdom of Morocco)
- Mr. Valiant Richey, Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSCE)
- Mr. Vicente Ramón Garcés, President of the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly Foundation (MCAF)
- Sen. Marie-Arlette Carlotti (France) will present the Report and Resolution on “Combating Human Trafficking and Migrants Smuggling in the PAM Region”
- Hon. Katica Glamuzina (Croatia) will present the Report and Resolution on “The use and implications of Artificial Intelligence in the field of energy efficiency” on behalf of the Hon. Abdelouahab Yagoubi (Algeria), Rapporteur on Artificial Intelligence
- Hon. Ray Abela (Malta), PAM Rapporteur on Digitalization
- Hon. Joana Lima (Portugal), President of PAM Women Parliamentary Forum
- H.E. Ms. Daniela Durović, President of the Parliament of Montenegro
- H.E. Prof. Mahmoud Abu Zeid, President of the Arab Water Council, Arab Republic of Egypt
- Dr. Said El Hachimi, Head of Parliamentary & IGOs partnerships and Outreach of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Hon. Giulio Centemero (Italy), Co-Chair of the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments
- Hon. Dejan Durović (Montenegro), will present the Report and Resolution on “Economic consequences of the COVID Pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine”
- Hon. Graziella Galea (Malta) will present the Report and Resolution on “The outcome of COP27 and the impact of Climate Change”
- Hon. Gabriel Amard (France), PAM Rapporteur on the Right to Water Access and Sanitation
- Dr. Alessandro Ortis, co-chair of the PAM Panel on Trade and Investments
- Hon. Adele Tonnini (San Marino), PAM Rapporteur on Environmental Crimes
On 2 March, Sen. Alia Bouran (Jordan), President of PAM 1st Standing Committee will preside over the work of the 1st Standing Committee on political and security cooperation. The main speakers of the second day will include:
- H.E. Margareta Cederfelt, President of the OSCE PA
- Hon. Mirela Furtuna (Romania) will present the Report and Resolution on “Geopolitical and Security Development in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Regions”
- Mr. Mauro Miedico, Deputy Director of the United Nations Office on Counter Terrorism
- Hon. Gennaro Migliore (Italy) and Hon. Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi (UAE) will present the Report and Resolution on “The evolving threats posed by terrorist and criminal activities in 2022”.
During the 17th Plenary Session, 12 recipients of the 2023 PAM award will be announced.//