Highlights

"Several successive years of healthy macroeconomic policies and political reforms have allowed Morocco to face the international crisis of 2008 and meet the social demands expressed within the framework of the Arab Spring," the IMF released in a note in Washington.

In this difficult environment, Morocco presented "good economic performances" while improving its social indicators, expressed with satisfaction the IMF Executive Directors in this note, published after the conclusion of the annual consultations with Morocco led by the Board of directors of the Fund in accordance with the Article IV of its statutes.

In spite of a slow recovery in the euro zone, main trading partner of the Kingdom, the global growth of the GDP should reach 4.5 to 5%, that is to say one of the highest rates in the region, which indicates "strong growth" of the "non-agricultural sector, including tourism as well as the rebound in agricultural production, notes the IMF.

Moreover, the directors of the Fund, which concluded the consultations with the Moroccan authorities on October 5th in Rabat, stated that unemployment, which is about 9%, remains "stable" while the urban and young people unemployment remain high.

The decline in food prices observed in the internal market in 2011 due to the increased supply of the local food products, and subsidies in force, which helped contain inflationary pressures related to upwards world prices, should, according to the same source, contribute to limit to approximately 1,5% the average increase in inflation.

The Moroccan government also took important compensatory measures, that will limit the budget deficit to about 5.7% of GDP, says the IMF.The authorities prepare to implement fiscal adjustment measures starting from 2012 to lower the deficit to 3% of GDP over the medium term, which would reduce public debt to 50% of GDP in the medium term.