WELCOME SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EMMANUEL SINZOHAGERA, SPEAKER OF THE SENATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI, ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE 9th CONSULTATION MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SENATES, SHOORA AND EQUIVALENT COUNCILS OF AFRICA AND ARAB WORLD

BUJUMBURA (Burundi), September 19, 2022

Excellency the Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi;

Honourables;

Distinguished participants;

Ladies and gentlemen, any protocol observed,

1. Glory to the Almighty God who watches over us, our peoples and the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World.

Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Burundi;

Honourables;

Distinguished participants;

• First of all, permit me to extend a warm welcome to His Excellency Prosper BAZOMBANZA, Vice President of the Republic of Burundi who, despite his multiple responsibilities, is among us to enhance with his presence, on behalf of His Excellency Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, President of the Republic of Burundi, these opening ceremonies of the 9^th Consultation Meeting of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World.

• Permit me then to welcome His Excellency Enaam MAYARA, President of the House of Councilors of Morocco, at the same time Speaker in office of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World.

• Permit me also to welcome all the other delegations from African countries and the Arab world to these magnificent premises of the National Assembly of the Republic of Burundi where we are proud to welcome you.

• I also address my thanks to the Government, to the National Assembly of the Republic of Burundi, to all the other Institutions and to all the people who have contributed in a way or another to the preparation of this meeting.

• I also salute the contribution of the General Secretariat of ASSECAA, in collaboration with the team of the Senate of Burundi, to the meticulous organization of the activities of this Consultation Meeting.

• Finally, my gratitude goes to all the personalities who responded to our invitation. I send them my heartfelt and sincere thanks.

Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Burundi;

Honourables;

Distinguished participants;

8.     The Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World is meeting today to reflect on two themes:

1.       The effects and repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on eArab-African economies and the response of governments;

2.     The Russian-Ukrainian war and its repercussions on supply chains, energy and food prices.

9.     Towards the end of 2019, the World experienced the Covid-19 pandemic which spread rapidly in all countries, causing damage in all sectors. This pandemic has abruptly interrupted activities all over the World. African countries and those of the Arab world have not been spared.

10.  Initially, several studies focused on the mortality that this crisis caused, neglecting its economic effects. And yet, covid-19 has also created opportunities to see how important it is to fully understand the economic effects of pandemics in order to analyze the policies to be implemented to mitigate their consequences, both health and economic.

11.    As the world began to emerge from the covid-19 crisis, another crisis suddenly arose. This is the Russian-Ukrainian war which began on February 24, 2022. This crisis has come to impose additional challenges on the world economy in general, and on African and Arab economies in particular.

12.  The resulting food, energy and financial crises have complicated the daily lives of citizens around the world, in Africa and the Arab world in particular.

13.  The economic outlook indicates that covid-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war could leave traces in terms of health and economic impacts for several decades.

14.  It is in this global context still marked by the consequences of covid19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war that the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World begins its consultation meeting today to better understand the effects and repercussions of covid-19 on Arab-African economies, as well as the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war on supply chains, energy and food prices.

Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Burundi;

Honourables;

Distinguished participants;

15.  At this great meeting of giving and receiving, we have the honour to welcome among us;

1.       His Excellency Enaam MAYARA, Speaker of the House of Councilors of Morocco at the same time President-in-Office of ASSECAA, as well as all the members of the delegation he leads;

2.     His Excellency  Modeste BAHATI LUKWEBO, Speaker of the Senate of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as all the members of his delegation;

3.     His Excellency Augustin IYAMUREMYE, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, as well as all the members of the delegation he leads;

4.     His Excellency DENG DEND AKOON, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of South Sudan and all members of his delegation;

5.     Her Excellency Lindiwe DLAMINI, Speaker of the Senate of the Kingdom of ESWATINI, as well as all the members of his delegation;

6.     Her Excellency Mabel CHINOMONA, Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and all members of her delegation;

7.     Honourable Jamal Mohamed Abdulhman FAKIRO, First Deputy-Speaker of the Shoora Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain and all the members of his delegation;

8.     Honourable Nasser Methrif Al HEAIDI, Head of Delegation of the Shoora Council of the State of Qatar and the members of the delegation he leads;

9.     Honourable Dr. Hisham Al-Fares, Head of Delegation of the Shoora Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the members of the delegation he leads;

10.  Honourable Omar Dadi Addoun, Head of Delegation of the Council of the Nation of the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria and all the members of his delegation;

11.    Honourable Adnan Hamad ALHAMMADI, Head of Delegation of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates and all the members of his delegation;

12.  Honourable Dr. Basheer Al-Hosh, Head of Delegation of the Libyan Council of State and all members of his delegation;

13.  Honourable Abdullahi Kabira BARKIYA, Head of Delegation of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all members of his delegation;

14.  Honourable Asumu Mum Munoz Anastasia, Head of Delegation of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and all members of his delegation;

15.  Honourable Fanny MOUSSOKOURA Chantal, Deputy-Speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and all the members of her delegation;

16.  Honoorable Snowe Jr EDWIM MELVIN, Head of Delegation of the Republic of Liberia and all members of his delegation;

17.  Ambassador Yasser Elsayed Mohamed ELATAWI, Representative of  the Speaker of the Senate of the Arab Republic of Egypt;

18.  Mister Abdulwasie YUSSUF, Secretary General of ASSECAA as well as the other members of the Secretariat;

Excellency the Vice President of the Republic of Burundi;

Honourables;

Distinguished participants;

16.  The deliberations of this 9th Consultation Meeting of the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils of Africa and the Arab World which opens this September 19, 2022 must mark a decisive step in the awareness of the urgent need to face the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

17.  In the Senate of the Republic of Burundi, our wish is that these deliberations allow good interactions between the participants to guarantee the emergence of complementary and constructive opinions. We wish the debates to be guided by a spirit of openness and shared responsibilities.

18.  We are certain that the exchanges of this Consultation Meeting will be punctuated by practical recommendations likely to be incorporated into our national laws in order to be implemented by our respective Governments.

19.  I should not end my remarks without expressing my gratitude to my predecessor Honourable Révérien NDIKURIYO, current Secretary General of the CNDD-FDD Party for his multiple contributions in strengthening Afro-Arab relations.

20.                  While awaiting the conclusion of the work of this 9th  Consultation Meeting, to which we wish full success, we once again assure all participants that all arrangements have been made for this Consultation Meeting to take place in a peaceful environment.

21.  Our intimate wish is that you be satisfied. Because, as Prince Louis RWAGASORE, hero of the independence of Burundi, said so well, "Your satisfaction will be our pride".

Thank you for your kind attention.