RABAT, Oct 14: King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Hassan and Prince Rachid, chaired, on Friday evening in Rabat, the opening of the first session of the third legislative year of the eleventh legislative term.

Upon the King's arrival at the Parliament headquarters, and after saluting the flag to the tunes of the national anthem, he reviewed a group of the Royal Guard.

Subsequently, His Majesty was greeted by Rachid El Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Al-Naam Mayara, Speaker of the House of Advisors, Mohamed Yacoubi, Governor of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region, Governor of the Rabat Prefecture, and the two General Clerks of the two Chambers of Parliament.

King Mohammed VI delivered a speech before members of the two chambers of Parliament in the presence of the President of the World Bank, Mr. Ajay Banga, and the Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, who are participating in the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund held in Marrakesh in the period between October 9 and 15.

In this speech, His Majesty the King stressed that “our will is to build and rebuild,” in the wake of the tragic earthquake that struck the Kingdom and left “thousands of martyrs and many wounded, may God heal them.”

In this regard, he stressed “the necessity of continuing to provide assistance to afflicted families, accelerating the rehabilitation and reconstruction of affected areas, and providing basic services.”

The King pointed out that “despite the horror of the tragedy, what alleviates the feelings of pain and inspires pride is the manifestations of sincere solidarity and spontaneous solidarity with their afflicted brothers.”

On the other hand, His Majesty the King highlighted that this tragedy showed “the victory of authentic Moroccan values, which enabled our country to overcome adversity and crises, and which always make us stronger and more determined to continue our path, with full confidence and optimism,” explaining that “those are the noble spirit and values, Which runs through all of our veins, and which we consider to be the basic foundation of the unity and cohesion of Moroccan society.”

He stressed his keenness to fortify the family with major projects and reforms. Among them are “workshops for mainstreaming social protection, which we consider a basic pillar of our social and development model.”

He pointed out that at the end of this year, the direct social support program will be activated, which will contribute to raising the standard of living of the targeted families, fighting poverty and fragility, and improving social and human development indicators.

The King confirmed that he directed the government to implement this program, according to a comprehensive vision, and within the framework of the principles of the law - the framework related to social protection, which was approved by Parliament, stressing the need for the program to constitute a successful model in its implementation, on the basis of the targeting system for the unified social registry, and for it to benefit from the effectiveness provided by modern technologies.

He also stressed the necessity of respecting the principles of solidarity, transparency, and fairness, and granting support to those who deserve it, calling on the government to work to give priority to the rationalization and efficiency of the social support programs currently in place, and to ensure the sustainability of financing methods.

The King stressed the need to adopt good governance for this project, in all its dimensions, and to establish a special mechanism for tracking and evaluation, to ensure its continuous development and evaluation.

Al-Seyassah