Rabat – Morocco is among the countries that rapidly reacted to the COVID-19 crisis, said Jihad Azour, Director for North Africa, middle east and Central Asia at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In an interview with the French magazine Le Point, Azour highlighted Morocco’s efforts in providing social support during the COVID-19 crisis to more than seven million families working in the informal sector.
The regional head of the IMF stressed that Morocco’s vaccination plan allowed the country to reach a “high level of immune protection, which has boosted the resumption of economic activities after the pandemic.”
He further noted that Morocco has implemented several structural reforms to mitigate the stress of the COVID crisis, such as the social protection system and other economic measures targeting the public sector.
Building on the experience it has gained in recent years to curb the pandemic, Azour argued that Morocco has used the same approach to deal with the ongoing challenges of the Ukrainian crisis.
“Morocco must continue its reforms, maintain stability in public finances and continue to reduce its level of debt, which is now under control,” the IMF representative added.
The North African country’s external debt increased from $55 billion in 2019 to $65.6 billion in 2020, marking a 19% year-to-year increase, according to World Bank data issued in January.
In the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war and its impact on the global economy, the IMF regional official said that Morocco’s situation is “better” compared to its neighboring countries, despite the significant drought that recently hit the country.
Morocco experienced this year one of its most severe droughts amid increasing global food and fuel prices caused by the Ukrainian war.
This has significantly impacted its agricultural output, recording a 70% drop in wheat production.
In a press briefing last week, Azour highlighted the Moroccan government’s measures to mitigate the impact of the global energy price increases on the country’s transportation sector.
Initially, the IMF had projected an economic growth of 3% in 2022 for Morocco but the drought season has prompted the institution to lower its growth projection for the Moroccan economy to 1.1% in 2022.
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