In conjuction with the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which took place virtually April 9th to the 11th 2021. The Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun and Mr Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, held a meeting on Friday, April 16th 2021, with the Managing Director of the IMF, Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva.
During this meeting, the Minister of
the Economy, Finance and Administration Reform presented the main response
measures adopted by Morocco, in particular through the establishment of the
Covid-19 Fund. He also outlined the priority reform projects undertaken by the
kingdom, in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty the King, in
particular the post-Covid recovery plan, the reform of the public sector and the
program for the generalization of social protection.
Mr. Benchaaboun also praised the
management of the IMF for the initiatives launched to reduce the negative
effects of the Covid-19 crisis. As a result, he invited the IMF, through its
benchmark positioning within the global financial architecture, to set up
initiatives dedicated to middle-income countries, including Morocco, in order
to meet their specific needs in the context of the current downturn.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Bank
Al-Maghrib praised the work accomplished by the IMF during this period of downturn
under the leadership of Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva. He also thanked the IMF for
the technical and financial support provided to our country, particularly
through the PLL.
Mr. Jouahri also highlighted our
country’s commitments and the progress made in other priority sectors such as
green finance, public-private partnerships, financial inclusion and
digitalisation.
The Managing Director of the IMF,
congratulated our country for the progress made in immunization as well as its
anticipatory strategy for mitigating the effects of the health crisis and for
economic recovery.
Mrs. Georgieva did not fail to congratulate
the commitment of the IMF and the international financial community to support
developing countries in their efforts to accelerate economic recovery and
transformation, and build resilience against future challenges. In this regard,
she called on our country, to continue its reform programs and take advantage
of new opportunities that arise in particular in the climate and digitalization
fields.
At the end of this meeting, the two
parties reaffirmed their commitment and their common will to further strengthen
the cooperation relations between Morocco and the IMF and to successfully
organize the annual meetings of the WB and the IMF, scheduled for Marrakech, in
October 2022.