Ajay Banga, Kristina Georgieva and Nadia Fettah confirm the holding of annual meetings in Marrakech – Jeune Afrique

2023-09-19 15:59:52

A sigh of relief from Marrakech, which recently suffered the tremors of a devastating earthquake which reached a human toll of nearly 3,000 dead and more than 5,500 injured, according to official sources. The President of the World Bank, the Managing Director of the IMF and the Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, have put an end to uncertainty: Marrakech will indeed host the next annual meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions, scheduled for 9 to October 15. An appointment that had been decided, and validated, since 2018.

To readEarthquake in Morocco: for the IMF and the World Bank, annual meetings that come at a bad time

This decision has not not been taken lightly. It is the result of an evaluation carried out by the Bretton Woods institutions, in close collaboration with the Moroccan authorities. In a joint press release, Ajay Banga, Kristalina Georgieva and Nadia Fettah Alaoui stressed the importance of this coordination. “Since the devastating earthquake of September 8 in Morocco, our teams have worked tirelessly with the Moroccan authorities to assess Marrakech’s capacity to host these assemblies. Our priority has been to ensure that these meetings would not hamper essential relief and reconstruction efforts, while ensuring the safety of all participants,” they said.

Together w/ the @WorldBank and the Moroccan government, we are announcing today that our Marrakech Annual Meetings (Oct 9-15) will take place. We have been assured that the city can host the Meetings safely & they would not hamper recovery efforts. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/a2ZielyOjT

— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) September 18, 2023

Site intact

This choice aims to send a strong message to the international community. While showing deep empathy towards the victims of the earthquake, the IMF and the WB underlined their determination to maintain this major event, seen as a mark of solidarity towards Morocco. All the more symbolic as these general assemblies have not set foot on African soil for fifty years. The last time being in Nairobi, Kenya in 1973.

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It is in Bab Ighli that “the financial world cup” will take place. The site remained intact, facilitating the decision financial institutions to maintain their annual meeting.

Bab Ighli, which covers nearly 300,000 m², has already proven itself as a host of international events, notably during COP22 in 2016. For the next assemblies, a 23-hectare campus will be set up. This space will have a plenary room that can accommodate up to 4,000 people, various meeting rooms, more than 600 desks for official delegations, as well as spaces reserved for the media and NGOs. Nearly 20,000 participants are expected, including 14,000 from abroad. Among them, official delegations, private sector experts, academics and nearly 800 international journalists.

Program loaded

The program, which has also remained unchanged, promises to be busy. From the opening, a debate focused on Africa will be moderated by Sabina Bhatia, Deputy Secretary of the IMF. This panel will notably feature interventions from Kristalina Georgieva and Nadia Fettah. It will be followed by in-depth sessions addressing topics such as regional inclusive growth, advances in blockchain, lessons learned from inflationary periods, the challenges of digital taxation, but also panel discussions on the creative dynamism of the continent in the face of her explosion demographic.

To readNadia Fettah Alaoui: “The IMF credit line is insurance for Morocco”

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