Moroccan Parliament Speaker Strengthens Ties with Finland During Official Visit
Rabat, The Gulf Observer: Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Rachid Talbi El Alami led a parliamentary delegation to Finland from September 10 to 13, where he held a series of high-level meetings aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation.
Talks focused on enhancing Moroccan-Finnish relations across parliamentary affairs, trade, energy, migration, agriculture, and food security. Both sides highlighted the importance of joint efforts in addressing global challenges such as climate change and the transition to renewable energy.
During the visit, Talbi El Alami met with Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Jussi Kristiansson Ala-Aho, Deputy Speaker Tarja Filatov, and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah. The delegation also held discussions with Chair of the Grand Committee Sari-Sofia Sirén, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Johannes Koskinen, and members of the Morocco-Finland parliamentary friendship group.
Finnish officials commended Morocco’s wide-ranging reforms under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and emphasized its role as a reliable partner of the European Union and a stabilizing force in the region. Talbi El Alami, for his part, expressed Morocco’s gratitude for Finland’s support of the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and its endorsement of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a realistic solution to the Western Sahara issue. He also outlined Morocco’s progress in healthcare, social protection, agriculture, renewable energy, and the ongoing reform of the Family Code.
The Moroccan delegation included parliamentary group leaders Mohamed Choqui of the National Rally of Independents and Rachid Hamouni of the Party of Progress and Socialism, as well as Morocco’s Ambassador to Finland and Estonia, Mohamed Achkalou.
The visit took place at the invitation of Finnish Parliament Speaker Ala-Aho, who had previously traveled to Morocco in May 2024.
Finland formally expressed its support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara in August 2024 following talks in Helsinki between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen. In a joint statement, Helsinki described the Moroccan proposal as a “serious and credible contribution to the UN-led political process” and “a good basis for a solution agreed upon between the parties.” The move marked a significant policy shift, making Finland the first Nordic country to explicitly endorse Morocco’s autonomy plan.
