Rabat – Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami, led a parliamentary delegation to Finland from September 10 to 13, where they held high-level discussions with Finnish officials.
The talks focused on enhancing Moroccan-Finnish cooperation, with particular emphasis on parliamentary relations, trade, energy, migration, agriculture, and food security. Both sides highlighted the importance of collaboration in addressing shared challenges such as climate change and the shift to renewable energy.
During the visit, Talbi El Alami and his delegation met with Finnish Parliament Speaker Jussi Kristiansson Ala-Aho, Deputy Speaker Tarja Filatov, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah, as well as the 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 praised Morocco’s extensive reforms under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and emphasized Morocco’s strategic importance as a reliable partner for the European Union and a key player in regional peace and stability. In return, Talbi El Alami expressed gratitude for Finland’s support of Morocco’s territorial integrity and the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a realistic foundation for resolving the Western Sahara issue.
The delegation also outlined Morocco’s significant reforms in areas such as health, social protection, agriculture, renewable energy, and the ongoing Family Code reform.
The Moroccan delegation included parliamentary group leaders Mohamed Choqui (National Rally of Independents) and Rachid Hamouni (Party of Progress and Socialism), along with Morocco’s ambassador to Finland and Estonia, Mohamed Achkalou.
The visit was made at the invitation of Finnish Parliament Speaker Jussi Kristiansson Ala-Aho, who had previously visited Morocco in May 2024.
Finland had officially expressed support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara in August 2024, following a meeting between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen in Helsinki. In a joint statement, Finland called the Moroccan plan a “serious and credible contribution to the UN-led political process” and a “solid basis for a solution agreed upon between the parties.” This marked a shift in Finland’s stance, as it became the first Nordic country to formally back Morocco’s plan for its southern provinces.