Annual meetings of World Bank Group, IMF open in Morocco

Marrakech, Morocco | Xinhua |  The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings opened Monday in the southern Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The meetings will run from Monday through Sunday and are expected to gather more than 12,000 participants, including 190 delegations led by finance ministers and central bankers, as well as private sector executives worldwide, Morocco’s national agency MAP reported.

It was the first such annual meeting hosted by an African country in 50 years, during which IMF would release the annual world economic outlook, and discussion sessions would be held on major global challenges that include energy crisis, climate change, regional conflicts, post-pandemic recovery, and their potential solutions, particularly for developing countries.

Kristalina Georgieva, IMF’s managing director, said in a curtain-raiser speech on Thursday that the global economy is “resilient, but challenged by weak growth and deepening divergence.”

She mentioned three policy priorities — reinforcing economic and financial stability, laying the foundations for inclusive, sustainable growth through transformational reforms and building strong state institutions, and boosting collective resilience through international cooperation.

The meetings were being held after the two organizations accessed with local authorities the city’s capacity in the wake of the deadly earthquake that hit Morocco on Sept. 8. ■