Najib El Khady, Secretary General of Morocco’s House of Representatives and president of the Association of Secretaries General of African Parliaments, is chairing the seventh annual meeting of the association, being held at the Pan-African Parliament headquarters in Midrand, South Africa, on September 29 and 30.
According to a statement from the House of Representatives, the meeting is part of efforts to strengthen cooperation among parliamentary administrations across Africa and is structured around three interconnected themes.
The first theme, presented by El Khady, focuses on “the role of the Secretary General in 21st-century Africa.” Participants will examine the challenges facing parliamentary secretaries general in an era of digital transformation and modern governance, including the adaptation of skills and competencies, transformational and ethical leadership, and the management of institutional change.
The second theme focuses on raising awareness of African Union treaties related to the theme of 2026, “Ensuring sustainable water availability and safe sanitation systems to achieve the goals of Agenda 2063.”
The third theme addresses “artificial intelligence and the organization of parliamentary work.” Participants will examine the opportunities offered by the technology to modernize legislative processes, improve access to parliamentary information and documents, and support research and institutional decision-making, drawing on comparative case studies from African and international parliaments.
The discussions will also cover the conditions for the responsible and ethical adoption of these technologies, their implications for data governance and cybersecurity, as well as ways to strengthen the capacity of parliamentary secretariats to use them effectively.
According to the statement, the meeting is expected to produce a shared understanding of the opportunities, risks and conditions for the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in parliamentary work, along with a common vision for the evolving role and competencies of parliamentary secretaries general in the 21st century and concrete strategies to modernize parliamentary secretariats.
Expected outcomes also include the adoption of amendments to the association’s statutes and the strengthening of its institutional and governance arrangements, as well as the submission of summaries of the discussions, recommendations and commitments to the Bureau of the Pan-African Parliament.
The meeting brings together the secretaries general of African national and regional parliaments that are members of the association, the Secretary General of the Pan-African Parliament and representatives of its secretariat, representatives of the African Union Commission and its other bodies, as well as experts specializing in artificial intelligence, digital governance and parliamentary administration.
The statement recalled that El Khady was elected president of the Association of Secretaries General of African Parliaments during its sixth session on September 27, 2025.
The session represented an important step in strengthening the continental body, which brings together administrative and professional officials from national and regional parliaments who play a central role in ensuring the continuity of parliamentary work and preserving institutional memory.
