The Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Mohammed BOUSSAID , was the guest of the Arabic-speaking International Television Channel ' CNBC ' and this , on the sidelines of the conference on the Arab world , which took place May 11th and 12th 2014 in Amman, under the theme : "Building the Future : employment, growth and equity in the Arab world."
During the interview with CNBC, the Minister answered several questions on the status of the Moroccan economy after the Arab Spring and the international economic crisis as well as Morocco‘s structural reforms, in the objective of establishing the balance in the State budget and create new jobs.
Thus, Mr. BOUSSAID stated that despite its openness on the world economy and particularly on European economies, the Moroccan economy showed a strong resilience to the global crisis, despite fluctuations in oil prices and the impact of the Arab Spring on social demands.
The Minister specified, supported by figures, that Morocco’s growth rate in 2013 was about 4.8% and expects for 2014 a rate of 4 %. He, for this purpose, stressed that the restoration of fiscal balance,he described as ' challenges , is made gradually and based on structural reforms including reforms related to the compensation fund, tax system, pension system and the Organic Law on finance laws .
He also drew attention to the recovery observed in the euro area after the crisis, and its positive impact on the Moroccan economy. On the other hand, Mr. BOUSSAID considered the Precautionary and Liquidity Line granted in 2012 to Morocco with $ 6.2 billion, as a good tool to use as a guarantee, and allowed the Kingdom to strengthen its position in the international financial market and to properly assess its economy.
As for the re-establishment of the balance of public finances and the improvement of the macroeconomic framework, the Minister replied that they are considered priorities that will provide strong signals on the good behavior of the national economy for both Moroccan and foreign investors. He also specified that the reforms adopted with the objective to restore macroeconomic balance, were conducted progressively and accompanied by policies aimed at protecting the disadvantaged classes, of the negative impacts.
On another issue, the Minister said that there is no ' magic bullet ' to put an end to unemployment in the Arab world, especially within young graduates. In this context, he stressed that the solution lies in the additional training responsive to the labor market, which should benefit the young graduates. Mr. BOUSSAID also believes that the development of the economy and the creation of higher growth rates are likely to contribute to creating new opportunities for job creation.