The Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Mohammed Boussaid , accompanied by a large delegation, represents Morocco in the work of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( EBRD), held May 14th and 15th , 2014 in Warsaw, Poland .
During the meeting, the Minister of Economy and Finance delivered a speech and met with several officials in charge of Economy and Finance in the participating countries. He took the opportunity to introduce economic reforms implemented by Morocco and the opportunities offered to invest in the Kingdom.
Thus, Mr. Boussaid stated at a session devoted to investments in Morocco, before an audience of investors and economic experts, that Morocco, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, launched major projects in several regions of the country and developed its motorway network. In this regard, he quoted Tanger Med which, he says, became an African hub.
Moreover, the Minister, who explained that the Kingdom is one of the few countries to have signed 55 free trade agreements including a billion consumers , stressed that the objective of the Moroccan economy is twofold: to be further strengthened before integrating into the European economy.
Within this framework, the Minister of Economy and Finance drew attention to sector based policies adopted by the Kingdom. The Green Morocco Plan aims to give a dynamic and harmonious evolution and evolutionary impetus to the agricultural sector and Emergence Plan which objective is to develop the business in the World (automotive, aerospace, electronics and offshoring). He also noted that the Moroccan economy modernizes and diversifies, announcing , in this regard , the first quarter of this year , the largest exporter of Morocco sector is the automotive industry and not the phosphates.
Mr. Boussaid also noted that despite an unfavorable international environment, Morocco achieved a growth rate of 4.8% of GDP in 2013, mastered inflation with less than 2% and an increase of 25% of foreign investments compared to 2012.
He then emphasized the importance of the financial sector in the economic development of the country, adding that a series of measures to boost the sector will be taken soon.
Regarding Africa, the Minister noted that HM the King Mohammed VI gave a new impetus to South-South partnership following the last Royal visit to sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa. “The African continent is the hope of the world in the next decades," stated the Minister when addressing investors, noting that Africa achieves one of the highest growth rates in the world.
The EBRD, which decided to invest 2.5 billion euros per year in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, opened in February 2012 a first antenna in Casablanca. EBRD conducts discussions with Moroccan officials on funding opportunities offered by the bank and in the areas of its involvement in development projects in relation to small and medium enterprises, agro- industry, energy sector, financial sector a well as infrastructure and municipal services.