Morocco’s development policies & reforms, an example in MENA region – WB official

Vice president for the MENA region at the World Bank (WB), Ferid Belhaj, said on Wednesday in Rabat that Morocco’s development policies and reforms are an example for the whole MENA region, renewing the international financial institution’s backing to these policies and reforms.

During a working session with Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, the WB official who is on a visit to the Kingdom from November 9 to 13, welcomed the willingness of the new government and its firm commitment to the implementation of major priority projects in Morocco.

He also expressed the World Bank’s interest in strengthening its support for Morocco’s economic and social development efforts.

The WB vice president for the MENA region also praised the work done in the frame of the new development model, noting that the “conclusive” results of this study show that Morocco is “on the right track”.

In this regard, the WB official expressed the willingness of his institution to provide its support, both financial and technical, to the various large-scale reforms undertaken by the Kingdom.

Belhaj, who welcomed the “long, strong, and deep” cooperation established between the WB group and Morocco, said that the institution has increased its financial commitment to Morocco for two years.

“We’re at about $1.8 billion,” he said, noting the institution’s intention to continue with that level of commitment.

For her part, the Economy & Finance Minister stressed that this working session was an opportunity to review the main priority reform projects that will be undertaken by the government, recalling that it is these reform projects that have dictated the main guidelines of the draft budget for the year 2022.

The Minister also affirmed that the partnership which binds Morocco to the World Bank Group is “exemplary”, specifying by way of example that the Bank’s assistance for this year has made it possible to finance key sectors of the Moroccan economy, in particular social services (education, health, social protection, human development, etc.), the financial sector, agriculture, and transport.

The Minister invited the World Bank, as part of its continued support for reform projects initiated by Morocco, to further strengthen its financial support to the Government in its efforts to contain the effects of the COVID-19 crisis and to implement its development program.

The two parties also discussed preparations for the organization, in Marrakech in October 2022, of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, reaffirming their commitment to spare no effort to ensure the success of this event.

Ferid Belhaj also discussed with head of the government Aziz Akhannouch at a meeting Tuesday in Rabat cooperation between Morocco and the WB.