Original: Spanish
The Socialist International Council meeting in Geneva on 23-24 November 1998:
Offers its unqualified support to the Government Manifesto of the Prime Minister and First Secretary of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, USFP, Abderrahman Youssoufi, in which it is reiterated a deep commitment to the strengthening of the democratic process, the consolidation of the rule of Law, the fight against unemployment and the improvement of the citizens' standard of living.
Recalls that this process of reforms is not free from risks due to the particularities of the democratic transition in Morocco which encompass political, economic and social factors. The reduction of these risks will determine in great part the success of the political evolution in this country at the end of the century.
Affirms the significance of this new political era, which has been legitimately established by the will of the people, and in which an ambitious reform package, designed to achieve the economic and social development of Morocco, is being implemented.
Urges that those pledges which were undertaken at the Barcelona Conference in November 1995 by the governments of the European Union and the countries belonging to the Mediterranean Partnership, and which have implications on three separate but related fronts - the political, the economic and the social/human - are honoured.
Stresses that there is an undeniable link between promoting economic development on the one hand and maintaining those conditions which are conducive to social stability on the other, and that this link is essential for progress towards a more just and balanced society.
Calls on the respective parliaments of the member states of the Barcelona Conference to ratify the Agreements on the Association with Morocco, which will be a much-needed support for the new Government, the USFP, and the democratic forces.