King Mohammed VI delivered a speech to Parliament on Friday on the occasion of the opening of the first session of the 5th legislative year of the 11th Legislature.
Addressing parliamentarians, King Mohammed VI praised their work, whether legislative, monitoring government action, or evaluating public policies. The Sovereign also emphasized the importance of partisan and parliamentary diplomacy, calling for more diligent and effective work, in cooperation with official diplomacy.
The King then called on members of the House of Representatives to work seriously and responsibly to successfully complete legislative processes and to remain committed to advocating for the citizens. “There should be no inconsistency or competition between national flagship projects, on the one hand, and social programs, on the other, since the goal is to achieve the country’s development and improve the living conditions of citizens, wherever they may be,” the Sovereign said.
The Royal Speech reaffirmed that the diptych “social justice and the fight against territorial inequalities ” is not a short-term slogan, but a strategic orientation that must permeate all development policies.
The Sovereign recalled the call, made during the last Speech from the Throne, to accelerate the progress of ” emerging Morocco ” and to launch a new generation of territorial development programs. For the King, the level of local development is the true mirror of the progress of an emerging and united Morocco.
This major transformation requires a significant change in mentalities, the entrenchment of a results-based culture and the use of digital technologies.
Priorities for Territorial Development
Regarding the new generation of territorial development programs, the King urged the government to develop projects characterized by greater speed and stronger impact, while respecting a win-win relationship between urban and rural areas.
Three priority areas have been specifically defined. This involves paying particular attention to mountainous areas and oases (which cover 30% of the territory), by providing them with an integrated public policy for harmonious development.
And secondly, to lead the optimal operationalization of sustainable development levers, including the law relating to the coastline, to ensure the balance between accelerated development and protection of these areas, within the framework of a national maritime economy.
The Sovereign also called for the expansion of the National Programme so that it becomes a suitable lever for managing urbanisation and providing local administrative, social and economic services to citizens in rural areas.
In conclusion, the Sovereign called on all stakeholders, from the government to Parliament, Majority and Opposition alike, to mobilize all energies and to ensure that the higher interests of the Nation and its citizens prevail.
