His Majesty the King receives the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib

Agadir24 | Agadir24/A.M.E

His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, accompanied by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, received, on Monday, at the Royal Palace in Tetouan, Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, who presented to His Majesty the Central Bank’s annual report on the economic, monetary and financial situation for the year 2023.

In his speech before His Majesty the King, Mr. Jouahri said that despite a difficult international context, successive years of drought, and the violent earthquake that struck the Al Haouz region, the national economy saw a remarkable improvement in 2023, recording a growth rate of 3.4 percent.

In parallel, Mr. Al-Jawhari confirmed that inflation, after reaching its peak in February, where it settled at 10.1 percent, gradually declined to complete the year with an average of 6.1 percent, compared to 6.6 percent in 2022.

He explained that this development is attributed, in addition to the decline in external pressures, to the measures taken by the government, as well as to the Bank of Morocco tightening monetary policy while continuing to meet all banks’ requests for liquidity.

On the contrary, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib confirmed that the situation in the labor market remained difficult in 2023, with the loss of approximately 157,000 jobs, reflecting significant declines in the agricultural sector, highlighting that the rest of the sectors recorded a relative improvement that was not sufficient to compensate for these losses.

Regarding public finance, Mr. Jouahri pointed out the continuation of efforts to strengthen the budget, as the deficit decreased to 4.4 percent of the gross domestic product, thanks to the good performance of tax revenues, the significant returns from innovative financing mechanisms, in addition to the resources mobilized through the “Special Fund for Managing the Consequences of the Earthquake” which was created upon the high instructions of His Majesty.

On the external accounts front, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib said that the current deficit fell to 0.6% of GDP thanks to the continued dynamism of the automobile industry, the flow of travel revenues and remittances from Moroccans living abroad, adding that the official reserve assets of Bank Al-Maghrib improved to 359.4 billion dirhams, equivalent to nearly 5 and a half months of imports. He stressed that despite the constraints and successive shocks, Morocco, reinforced by its political and social stability, continued its reform program and major economic and social projects, and even expanded their scope.

He added that this approach, in addition to its credibility as a reliable partner, has enabled Morocco to obtain positive assessments from international institutions and to have easier access to financial markets and financing and credit instruments, in addition to hosting the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund last October. The Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib considered that the challenge today remains to maintain this momentum, consolidate the gains and ensure their sustainability, explaining that for this, Morocco must manage and succeed in a number of major transformations initiated by His Majesty.

Thus, in order for social dialogue to contribute more to Morocco’s transition towards a social state, Mr. Jouahri stressed that it would be wiser and fairer to rely on an approach that takes into account, in addition to improving working conditions, social justice and reducing disparities.

He recalled the importance of completing the reform of pension systems, while the balances of these systems remain fragile. To ensure the success of the transition towards a green and sustainable economy, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib stressed that, in addition to the necessary urgent solutions, it is necessary to accelerate the implementation of policies to adapt to and combat climate change and ensure greater effectiveness and coherence between them, which would strengthen Morocco’s position as a pioneer in this field.

At the level of digital transition, Mr. Jouahri stressed that on the eve of launching a new strategy, the achievement of this workshop remains conditional on strengthening the basic infrastructure, especially the public one, improving the quality of education and promoting digital culture, as well as providing a stimulating environment for the emergence of an integrated digital system.

In this context, and in the financial field in particular, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib said that the Central Bank intends, in cooperation with the concerned parties, to create a special fund for modern financial technologies that will provide financial support to project holders in addition to accompanying them in their implementation.

He pointed out that the success of these major transitions depends on the availability of significant resources that the state alone cannot sustainably mobilize, which may require the participation of the private sector and foreign partners.

He concluded that Morocco is determined to continue its development path and its transition to the ranks of emerging countries, and that achieving this transition remains dependent on the public policy continuing to focus on the basics of development.

This concerns in particular, according to Mr. Jouahri, the development of human capital, the strengthening of governance, and the improvement of the business climate while preserving macroeconomic balances, and mobilizing all the vital forces in the country in a spirit of seriousness and responsibility, while giving top priority to the national interest, as His Majesty the King called for in last year’s Throne Speech.

On this occasion, Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri presented to His Majesty the King, may God preserve him, the annual report of the Central Bank on the economic, monetary and financial situation for the year 2023.