Coming in a context of great uncertainty, the 2022 African Caucus Meeting resulted in the preparation of a memorandum for the presidents of the WB and the IMF in which the priorities of the continent are considered. The Ministers of Finance and Governors of African Central Banks meeting on July 5 and 6 in Marrakech also launched an appeal through this memorandum for greater mobilization of the Breton Woods institutions to provide more responses and resources to support the African countries.
The meeting of the African Group of Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks of the 54 African Member States of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund “African Caucus” ended in Marrakech with particular emphasis on the need to ensure a fairer international financial system and more realistic debt service treatment that can free up much-needed resources for Africa’s development. For two days, intense deliberations between senior African officials resulted in the collection of a memorandum for the attention of the presidents of the World Bank and the IMF outlining the continent’s priorities and calling for greater mobilization of the Breton Woods institutions to find more responses and resources to support African countries.
In this regard, they highlighted important points that could lead African countries to develop strategies and overcome the multiple challenges to which they are currently exposed. “This meeting made it possible to prepare a memorandum for the President of the WB and the President of the IMF recalling the priorities for the continent and asking the Breton Woods institutions for greater mobilization to find more solutions and more resources. support for African countries”, indicated the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, during the closing ceremony of this event. “Our common will to unify our ranks and speak with one voice will be essential to draw the attention of the world to Africa and mobilize resources for the development of the continent”, she noted. “The world economy is going through an unprecedented crisis characterized by a succession of shocks.
And even if this crisis does not originate in Africa, our continent is nonetheless suffering the unfortunate repercussions. As the global economy has begun to recover from the Covid pandemic-induced regression, we are apparently heading into a depressing period of stagflation. Therefore, Africa runs the real risk of worsening poverty and food insecurity, which could cause social and political unrest,” the Minister warned. And to add: “if we wish to progress in the establishment of a more equitable international financial system or to plead in favor of a realistic treatment of the service of the debt which could contribute to releasing the resources essential to development, a position Concerted action is then essential. Strong and prudent policy measures on our part are also necessary to safeguard external reserves, preserve debt sustainability, increase resilience to shocks and make growth more sustainable and inclusive. ” the momentum generated by these Marrakesh meetings will pave the way for more concessional financing for African countries Whatever perspective is granted, be it structural reforms or policy initiatives, there is no doubt that more resources are needed to close the large financial gaps that prevent meaningful progress on the development path. ment in many of our countries”, underlined Ms. Fettah Alaoui.
The continued widening of financing gaps, according to the Kingdom’s financier, tends to worsen the economic situation of African nations, by exacerbating vulnerabilities before and during times of crisis. “That is why this conference has emphasized the importance of unlocking more concessional finance, the need to restructure the global financial architecture and the promotion of regional integration, all key areas on which we must focus our engagement with the World Bank Group and IMF on sustainable and inclusive development. she said.
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Adoption of the Marrakesh Declaration
The work of the African Caucus meeting was sanctioned by the adoption of the “Marrakesh Declaration”. Through this document, participants called on the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund to provide “swift”, “comprehensive” and “meaningful” debt relief to help Africa recover from the impacts negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis, and to minimize the risks they pose to the growth prospects of African countries. The participants in this meeting insisted, through this document, on the need to ensure rapid implementation of the commitment made at the G7 summit (June 2022), in particular with regard to the urgent need to improve the frameworks debt restructuring multilaterals and address the challenges inherent in debt vulnerabilities. They also called on the Bretton Woods institutions to intensify their work on a global debt architecture and to support the region’s call to the G20 for an extension of the debt service suspension initiative.
