Musings From Abroad

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

Published

2 weeks 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

Germany to support ECOWAS with $86 million

Published

2 days ago

October 1, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will receive 81 million euros ($85.9 million) in support from Germany’s Development Ministry for peacekeeping and economic growth.

“The crises in West Africa require regional solutions. In addition to actively mediating in crises, ECOWAS also actively works to prevent crises, according to Development Minister, Svenja Schulze, who met with an ECOWAS delegation on Friday in Berlin.

Germany enjoys a positive reputation in many African countries thanks to its long-standing alliance with nations like Niger and Nigeria, although it has fallen out with the Malian government, which is notorious for its counter-posture to the West. Hundreds of German soldiers are also on missions across the West African sub-region, which has now become a breeding ground for terrorists.

But the case is different when it comes to economic relations. In 2021, German companies invested around $1.6 billion (€1.68 billion) in Africa, which was “encouraging but still far from enough.” In terms of Germany’s total direct foreign investment around the globe, only around 1% ends up in Africa.

China has led the chart for investment into the continent in recent years. While Chinese investment shows the fastest growth, and expanding, the significance of German enterprises for African economies is shrinking.

Musings From Abroad

UN Security Council approves funding of regional force, EACRF

Published

4 days ago

September 28, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

A proposal to fund the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has received official approval from the UN Security Council.

The EAC Secretary General, Dr Peter Mathuki, while speaking after a meeting with the Security Council during the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, said the deal would be finalized soon after Monusco finally withdrew from the DRC by December this year.

“What has happened is that the UN Security Council is very keen and appreciative of the role of the EAC in supporting the security of the eastern DRC,” said Dr Mathuki.

“They have agreed to work a mechanism that will support our troops in DRC, and they said as Monusco closes down, and reduces their numbers in DRC, they will wish to strengthen the EACRF.”

Dr. Mathuki stated that he had asked the Security Council to assist in funding the EACRF, which at the moment has more than 4,000 soldiers from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and South Sudan, as they prepare to scale down Monusco.

“We have proposed funding the EACRF, and the UN Security Council said they are meeting in December which we will be able to determine how much they can draw down from Monusco and how much they will be able to get to fund the EACRF,” Dr Mathuki said.

Last week, DRC President, Felix Tshisekedi, in his address at the UN General Assembly, argued that Monusco’s withdrawal was crucial to ending the conflict between the Congolese people and the mission.

“The acceleration of the withdrawal of the Monusco becomes an imperative necessity to ease tensions between the latter and our fellow citizens,” he said.

Meanwhile, there seems to be a rising tide of anti-UN peacekeeping forces in some African nations. Mail had earlier requested that the UN end its mission in the country and withdraw, and the UN complied, ending the MINUSMA mission there.