Musings From Abroad

IMF, World Bank set date to decide on Morocco hosting their annual meeting

Published

1 year ago

September 16, 2023

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have set a date to decide if they would hold their next annual meetings in Morocco following the massive impact of the recent earthquake in the North African country.

The multilateral bodies will on Monday decide on the proposed Oct. 9-15 meeting after completing a “thorough review” of the country’s ability to host the meetings, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva said.

“Stay tuned. By Monday, we will have made a decision in taking into account all factors. Obviously, physical capacity, how the logistics are going to work,” Georgieva said, adding that security for participants was not a major concern.

Reports emerged during the week that Morocco was not backing out of hosting the meeting despite Friday’s devastating earthquake. A source close to the Moroccan government quoted by Reuters said, “From the viewpoint of the Moroccan authorities, the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank will take place as scheduled: October 9-15, 2023. There is no change of plan as of now.”

Georgieva further revealed that the IMF’s new Resilience and Sustainability Trust would provide a $1.3 billion loan to Morocco. This loan aims to enhance the country’s capacity to withstand climate-related disasters. This is a significant step towards building a more sustainable and resilient future for Morocco.

Georgieva stated that the IMF Executive Board would need to approve the $1.3 billion RST loan for Morocco, but that this would most likely happen in the two weeks prior to the start of the annual meetings.

Georgieva also expressed concern that the IMF and World Bank “don’t want to be a burden” to the country as it dealt with recovery efforts, in her account of conversations with Moroccan Prime Minister, Aziz Akhannouch.

Marrakech’s historic city centre sustained considerable damage, while the majority of the city’s more contemporary areas were spared.

The IMF and World Bank hold their annual meetings every three years in a developing country that has shown that its economic policies and system of government are effective and may be used as a model by other countries. Similar IMF meetings took place in Indonesia in 2018 and Peru in 2015.

Related Topics:Featured IMF Morocco World Bank

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

7 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

1 day ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.