Economic Resilience: IMF Approves $496 Million for Morocco
Rabat – The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board announced that it has approved the disbursement of the third tranche in favor of Morocco under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement, amounting to $496 million.
This brings the total disbursement under the arrangement to about $1.24 billion, a statement from the IMF said, noting that Morocco's economy continued to show resilience despite another year of drought.
The monetary fund also suggested that the country's economic growth is expected to accelerate over the medium term, as a result of stronger investments and structural reforms.
'Robust domestic demand helped offset weak agricultural output and economic activity is expected to have slowed only modestly to 3.2 percent in 2024,' IMF stated, noting that the current account deficit has widened.
IMF also recalled some of the challenges Morocco has been facing, including unemployment, which remains elevated at about a 13% rate, affecting the agricultural sector.
Despite a modest slowdown in Morocco's GDP growth, IMF expects the pace to accelerate to 3.7% over the next few years thanks to infrastructure projects as well as the structural reform agenda.
A majority of these infrastructure projects center around Morocco's vast preparation campaign for the 2030 World Cup.
The projects include the construction of new stadiums and the renovation of existing ones, as well as robust additions to roadway and railway infrastructure.
Kenji Okamura, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the IMF had high remarks for Morocco's economy, commenting that it has continued to show resilience to negative shocks, a case that reflects the country's 'very strong economic policies and frameworks.'
'Despite renewed drought conditions, economic activity slowed only modestly to an estimated 3.2 percent in 2024, down from 3.4 percent in 2023, thanks to robust domestic demand,' Okamura added.
The IMF executive further commented on Morocco's reforms, noting that they are essential to making growth stronger, more resilient, job-rich, and more inclusive.
The bank also recalled Morocco's climate efforts under the resilience arrangements, noting that a series of measures have been implemented to better protect underground water resources and improve regulations for the electricity market to encourage the private sector's production of renewable energy. Tags: Africa's economyMorocco economic
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