Morocco, Leader in Africa’s Macroeconomic Integration

Morocco ranked 1st in Africa in macroeconomic integration in “Africa Regional Integration Index 2019”, published lately by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission.
With a score of 0.809, Morocco takes the lead in the continent macroeconomic integration. Mauritius came in the second place followed by Egypt and Rwanda, says the report.
Morocco topped Africa’s macroeconomic integration thanks its economic and politic stability which “create a healthy financial climate that attracts cross-border investments and is, therefore, conducive to financial and macroeconomic integration”, underlines the report.
The African countries which received high marks are those having a convertible currency such as the Moroccan dirham (MAD) and Rwandan franc (RWF). Currency convertibility facilitates regional business transactions and African regional integration, explains the report.
Furthermore, the top three countries, Morocco, Egypt and Mauritius, have sealed several bilateral investment treaties to attract and ease cross-border capital flows, points the document.
In terms of African infrastructure integration, Morocco ranks 4th in the index and gained the 8th place in the productive integration.
The African Regional Integration Index (ARII 2019) provides up-to-date data on the status and progress of regional integration in Africa. It also helps to assess the level of integration for every Regional Economic Community (REC) and their member countries.
The report says that much more needs to be done to integrate regional economies to make them more resilient to shocks such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
It urges Africa leaders to act towards building more resilient economies through advancing regional integration as a means to counter international shocks and speeding up the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).