The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Moroccan authorities have decided to proceed with the 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech despite the recent earthquake in the North African country. The Moroccan Central Bank Governor, M. Abdellatif Jouahri, consider debts, financial inclusion and climate change, among others, as the key issues that will top African nations’ agenda at the meetings, writes EGOLE ANOZIE
Following the national crisis caused by the recent earthquake in Morocco, authorities in the Kingdom of Morocco have said the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund would go on as scheduled.
Morocco, which would be hosting the Annual Meetings 50 years after it first took place in Africa, had maintained very high momentum in its preparation until the earthquake struck. Still, the country said it remained unperturbed, though mourning the dead and managing the humanitarian fallout of the tragic incident.
Officials of the North African nation said the meeting would be held from October 9-15, 2023, while assuring that the Moroccan government remained committed to helping the earthquake victims.
This year’s Annual Meetings theme is “Global Action, Global Impact”.
The Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s Central Bank, Abdellatif Jouahri, during a virtual chat with journalists recently, said the over 50-hectare venue of the international event was not affected by the earthquake, adding that the World Bank and IMF officials had assessed the venue of the meetings in the aftermath of the earthquake and ascertained that it was not only unaffected, but it offered a world-class arena conducive for such a global gathering.
He explained that the enormous debts owed to development banks by African nations, financial inclusion and climate change are some of the issues that would top the agenda of African countries during the meetings.
He said, “The declaration of Marrakech should be centred on the new multilateralism. We have witnessed a massive gap between developed and poor countries, and we should build new multilateralism with the condition to allow our countries to reduce the gap and not face new gaps like the digital bridge. The key areas to be discussed during the Annual Meetings include debts; addressing the problem of the debts is crucial, and ensuring resources are made available for countries that need them more, particularly African countries.
“The second one is financial inclusion. It should be developed in our countries, and the digital platform provides a veritable tool for us to close the gaps in our countries. Also, digital currencies are to be developed by central banks. The other thing to be lobbied about is climate change. It is a pivotal thing to be addressed in Marakkesh. For instance, Morocco’s production has been hampered by the drought. We must ensure that all the financial commitments made in Paris, 30 per cent of which have not been fulfilled for African countries, must be pushed to the front burner. We need to ensure that the financial commitments to Africa are met. The food security of our population is also very critical.”
Speaking further on the earthquake, the Moroccan central banker reiterated that the earthquake in Marrakech would not affect the World Bank Group and IMF meetings.
“When the unfortunate incident happened, the World Bank and IMF officials witnessed that the venue of the Annual Meetings and the hotels were unaffected,” he said, “The evaluations of both institutions’ officials in the presence of Moroccan authorities show that the Annual Meetings could proceed despite the tragedy.”
Ahead of the annual meetings, Jouahri explained that several events had been organised tagged ‘Road to Marakkesh’, focusing on climate change, financial inclusion and other issues.
“The African Caucus occurred in Cape Verde, where our continent’s problems were discussed. There was also a symposium by central banks on financial inclusion and a symposium on gender,” he added.
The Moroccan central bank Governor maintained that the main issues discussed at the African Caucus that would be presented to the World Bank and IMF at the Annual Meetings include debts by African nations and the representation of Africa in both organizations.
