King Mohammed VI Calls on Arab Financial Institutions to Support Reforms

Morocco’ King Mohammed VI has called on Arab financial institutions to pool efforts in order to support economic and financial reforms engaged in the Arab world, facing major regional and international challenges.
In a message addressed to participants in the 2017 Annual Joint Meetings of Arab Financial Institutions, convened Tuesday in Rabat, the Moroccan Sovereign urged Arab financial institutions to rev up Arab economies to facilitate inter-Arab integration and to step up efforts to meet growing socioeconomic needs.
“Arab countries are facing real, intertwined challenges due to geo-strategic developments, protracted slackening of global economic activity and international trade as well as volatile commodity prices on international markets, all of which impact economic activity in the region”, said the Monarch.
“These factors make it harder to control financial balances. They also compound challenges relating to economic stability and hamper the achievement of comprehensive, sustainable development. Notwithstanding some improvement, growth forecasts for Arab countries are still below expectations, and are insufficient to address growing unemployment rates, particularly among young people”, added the Sovereign.
“Most Arab economies have proven to be resilient in the face of the above developments, thanks to bold, structural reforms in the financial and economic domains, the provision of incentives to the private sector and the adoption of strategies to diversify the economic fabric”, stressed the royal message.
In this respect, “supporting small and medium-size projects, creating job opportunities for young people, empowering women, promoting development in rural areas, curbing poverty and vulnerability and training the human resources that are capable of rising to development and security challenges are key issues that should be a priority for our financial institutions in the years to come”, underlined King Mohammed VI.
He went on to say that “human capital, just like the intangible capital, is our countries’ foremost asset. It must be placed at the heart of public policy priorities, given the increasingly important role human resources play in achieving development and promoting cultural influence”.
“I call upon Arab financial institutions to strive doubly hard to encourage inter-Arab investment, given the part it plays in achieving sustainable development, and to provide incentives to the private sector as an engine for the promotion of development and a creator of wealth”, said the Moroccan Sovereign.
He also called for the promotion of development projects that support Arab economic integration and make Arab economies more open to their regional environment, particularly Africa. “These projects should cover various fields, such as energy and infrastructure in order to promote electrification as well as land, railroad and maritime transport, in addition to agricultural projects to achieve food security”, underscored the Monarch.
“I should like to stress, in this regard, that supporting the development efforts of African countries should not only remain a priority as far as our joint Arab action is concerned, but also serve as a tangible model of South-South cooperation”, said King Mohammed VI.