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 of Tetouan, Mr. Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of the Bank of Morocco, who presented to His Majesty the annual report of the Central Bank on the economic, monetary and financial situation for the year 2023.
In his speech before His Majesty the King, Mr. Al-Jawahiri said that despite a difficult international context and successive years of drought, as well as the violent earthquake that hit the Al Haouz region, the national economy witnessed a notable improvement in 2023, recording a growth rate of 3.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Al-Jawahiri confirmed that inflation, after reaching its peak in February, when it stabilized at 10.1 percent, gradually decreased to end the year at an average of 6.1 percent, compared to 6.6 percent in 2022.
He explained that this development is due, in addition to the reduction of external pressures, to the measures taken by the government, as well as to the tightening of the monetary policy of the Bank of Morocco in parallel with the continued satisfaction of the liquidity demands of all banks.
On the contrary, the Governor of the Bank of Morocco confirmed that the labor market situation remained difficult in 2023, with the loss of about 157,000 jobs, which reflects significant declines in the agricultural sector, stressing that other sectors recorded a relative improvement, but this was not enough to compensate for these losses.
Regarding public finances, Mr. Al-Jawahiri stressed that efforts to strengthen the budget continued, as the deficit decreased to 4.4 percent of the gross domestic product, thanks to the good performance of tax revenues, significant returns from innovative financing mechanisms. , in addition to the resources mobilized through the “Special Fund”. In managing the consequences of the earthquake, caused by high instructions from His Majesty.
At the level of external accounts, the governor of the Bank of Morocco indicated that the current deficit fell to 0.6% of the gross domestic product thanks to the continued dynamism of the automobile industry and the inflow of income from travel and remittances from Moroccans living abroad, adding that the official reserve assets of the Bank of Morocco improved to 359.4 billion dirhams, which is equivalent to about 5 and a half months of imports.
He stressed that despite the constraints and successive shocks, Morocco, strong in its political and social stability, has continued its reform program and its major economic and social projects, and even broadened their scope.
He added that this approach, in addition to its credibility as a reliable partner, has allowed Morocco to obtain positive assessments from international institutions and to access more easily financial markets and financing and credit instruments, in addition to hosting last October the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The Governor of the Bank of Morocco considered that the challenge today remains to maintain this momentum, consolidate the achievements and ensure their sustainability, explaining that for this, Morocco must manage and carry out a certain number of major transformations initiated by His Majesty.
Thus, for social dialogue to contribute more to Morocco’s transition to a social state, Mr. Al-Jawahiri 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 aspects and reducing disparities.
He recalled the importance of completing the reform of pension systems, while the balances of these systems remain fragile.
In order to successfully transition to a green and sustainable economy, the Governor of the Bank of Morocco stressed that in addition to the urgent solutions needed, the implementation of adaptation and climate change policies must be accelerated, as well as ensuring greater efficiency and harmony between them, which would strengthen Morocco’s position as one of the pioneers in this field.
At the level of digital transition, Mr. Al-Jawahiri stressed that on the eve of the launch of a new strategy, the implementation of these workshops remains conditional on the strengthening of basic infrastructures, particularly public, 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 the Bank of Morocco indicated that the Central Bank intends, in cooperation with the parties concerned, to create a special fund for modern financial technologies which will provide financial support to project leaders in addition to supporting them in their implementation.
He stressed that the success of these major transitions depends on the availability of significant resources that the State alone cannot mobilize sustainably, which may require the participation of the private sector and foreign partners.
He concluded that Morocco is resolutely continuing its path of development and its transition to the rank of emerging countries, and that the achievement of this transition remains dependent on the pursuit of public policies focused on the fundamentals of development.
According to Mr. Al-Jawahiri, these include developing human capital, strengthening governance and improving the business climate alongside preserving macroeconomic balances, and mobilizing all the country’s vital forces in a spirit of seriousness and responsibility, while giving the highest priority to the national interest, as requested by His Majesty the King in last year’s Throne Speech.
On this occasion, Mr. Abdul Latif Al-Jawahiri presented to His Majesty the King, may God protect him, the annual report of the Central Bank on the economic, monetary and financial situation for the year 2023.
