Morocco’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mohamed Arrouchi, stressed, Monday in Addis Ababa, that Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has placed the fight against poverty and vulnerability as a national priority within the framework of a global vision aimed at promoting human capital and building resilience.
Arrouchi, who intervened at the 55th session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development held in person and by videoconference under the theme “Fostering recovery and transformation in Africa to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities,” stated that following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Morocco undertook an approach aimed at countering the negative impacts of the pandemic and transforming its challenges into opportunities by strengthening the national health system, encouraging collective reflection on social protection, economic recovery, employment, and green transition.
In this context, Arrouchi, who leads the Moroccan delegation at this session, noted that in order to adapt its development strategy to the current multidimensional and unprecedented challenges, the Kingdom opted, in 2021, for a New Development Model, which builds on the achievements of previous initiatives and aims to empower women, promote inclusion and the development of youth to ensure the structural transformation of the Moroccan economy into a productive one, generating wealth and high-quality jobs.
The Moroccan diplomat further addressed the situation in Africa, noting that the latter is currently facing a particularly complex and difficult situation.
Arrouchi stated in this regard that if the Covid-19 crisis had slowed the growth and implementation of sustainable development goals set out in the 2030 Agenda and the 2063 Agenda of the African Union, the Ukrainian crisis had strongly impacted the resilience model that the African continent has managed to build in the aftermath of the pandemic and had led to disastrous consequences for millions of Africans and their ability to ensure their most basic needs, especially in terms of food.
The official explained that the budgetary capacities and public finances of African countries are currently facing a difficult challenge. “There is a significant increase in public debts and the emergence of new budgetary requirements imposed by the imperative to face the inflationary cycle, the duration and ramifications of which are still unpredictable and which severely impact the purchasing power of African citizens and consequently our efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals in terms of combating poverty and vulnerability,” added Arrouchi.
Arrouchi argued that “our ability to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, especially in terms of combating poverty and vulnerability, is dependent on our ability to come up with innovative solutions and targeted approaches, not only to achieve the goals outlined in the different agendas but to build a model of development and growth resilient to future crises.”
The Moroccan diplomat also stressed that the strengthening of international cooperation and the implementation of innovative national budget programs are necessary to ensure resilience and sustainable recovery from the current numerous crises, and thus ensure that all the success factors are on Africa’s side to eradicate extreme poverty on the continent by 2030.
In a similar context, Arrouchi reaffirmed that the Kingdom’s offer to host the 56th Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development reflects its commitment to African solidarity and South-South cooperation, as well as its willingness to boost the development and resilience agendas in serving the African continent and its citizens.
