The famous tourist city of Marrakech in Morocco will host this year’s International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank annual meeting, set for 9th till 15th of next month.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in an exclusive interview with the Moroccan News Agency (MAP), clarified on Monday that the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank will take place as planned on the same date in Marrakech.
“The announcement we are making together with the Minister of Finance and the World Bank President is that the meetings will go forward as planned” in Marrakech on October 9–15, Georgieva.” Affirmed Georgieva
“I want to thank the Moroccan authorities and the Moroccan people” for the attention paid to the meetings, said the IMF chief, who takes part in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“We are very grateful to Morocco for its hospitality”. We will do our utmost as institutions to be of help to Morocco, which was hit by a powerful earthquake.”
“It is a message of solidarity with Morocco and with each and every country that is faced with shocks because we do live in a more shock-prone world and we need to face it together,” Georgieva added.
The annual meetings will be attended by, among others, central bankers, finance ministers, the private sector, civil society, the media, and academicians who will discuss and deliberate on global issues, including the world economic outlook, global financial stability, poverty eradication, inclusive economic growth, and climate change.
For the first time in 50 years, Africa will host the meeting.
Normal operations have resumed in Marrakech city, with schools reopening following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake, that struck the El-Huz and Amzmiz regions near the Atlas Mountains early this month.
Marrakech boasts a wealth of historic treasures, including World Heritage sites such as Ksar Bahia, and is among the prime tourist destinations in Africa.
