Mrs. Nadia FETTAH, Minister of Economy and Finance, participated in the first edition of the Al-Ula conference for emerging market economies. This event is jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the International Monetary Fund, on February 16 and 17, 2025 in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, under the theme “Rising with strength: building resilience in a changing world”.
The conference brought together finance ministers, central bank governors and policymakers from emerging markets, as well as leaders from the public and private sectors, international institutions and academia to exchange views on national, regional and global economic developments and discuss policies and reforms to foster inclusive prosperity and build resilience through strong international cooperation.
In this context, Mrs FETTAH took part in the session entitled “Managing trade tensions and uncertainties”, alongside Mr. Adebayo Olawale Edun, Nigeria's Minister of Finance, and Mr. Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine's Minister of Finance.
On this occasion, Madame Minister stressed that Morocco, as an open economy integrated into global value chains, cannot escape the negative effects and repercussions caused by the escalation of trade protection measures in a context weakened by the successive shocks of recent years.
With this in mind, Mrs. FETTAH spoke of the Moroccan experience in consolidating economic resilience in the face of global challenges, through structural reforms and sectoral strategies that have helped to diversify Morocco's economic partners and sources of growth.
The Minister also emphasised the importance of regional initiatives, such as the Atlantic Initiative for the Sahel, the fruit of the enlightened vision of his majesty the King, May God Assist Him, to strengthen regional integration and open up new outlets for African trade, in a global context marked by the resurgence of trade tensions and protectionist tendencies.
On the sidelines of her participation in the Al-Ula conference, Mrs. FETTAH held a bilateral meeting with the President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr. Jin Liqun.
During the meeting, the two parties exchanged views on the various aspects of financial and technical cooperation between Morocco and the BAII, and examined potential avenues of cooperation, notably in relation to the development of strategic infrastructure in Morocco, as well as energy transition and sustainable development.