Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun, Minister of Economy and Finance, stated, Monday, March 25th 2019 in Marrakech that Morocco believes in the potential for increasing trade in the African continent and co-development in a number of sectors.
"We have already carried out with several African countries large-scale projects particularly in financial services (banks and insurance), as well as telecommunications and public works," stated Mr. Benchaaboun during a press briefing that follows the first day of the ministerial sessions of the 52nd Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (COM2019) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Accordingly, Mr. Benchaabou noted that the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) "will provide an opportunity to accelerate the achievements of each country and open up a whole continent to trade in every aspect and to co-development. This step will enable a major increase of growth rate in the countries involved".
In addition, the Minister clarified that COM2019 provides an occasion to review and stress all the opportunities digitalisation and the use of new technologies offer to promote the African economy.
On the other hand, ECA Executive Secretary, Mrs. Vera Songwea stated that the first day of the ministerial sessions started with talks on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2063 Agenda of the African Union.
She pointed out that the funding of the SDGs 2030 requires $ 680 billion, indicating that discussions highlighted the fact that the improvement of taxation, through the widening of the tax base, could generate up to 480 billions of dollars.
Noting that financial inclusion remains a challenge for many countries of the continent, Mrs. Songwea stressed the social contract with the private sector, which intends to contribute to the SDGs.
The COM2019, held from March 20th to 26th under the theme "Fiscal Policy, Trade and the Private Sector in the Digital Era: A Strategy for Africa", focuses on the contributions of digital technology , both in terms of developing trade in Africa and strengthening domestic budget policies, as well as improving the collection of tax revenues.