In his address before His Majesty the King, Jouahri stated that, despite a highly uncertain international environment and successive years of drought, the domestic economy improved notably in 2024, growing by 3.8% overall and 4.8% in non-agricultural activities. In parallel, inflation declined significantly averaging 0.9%, he pointed out.
Then, he underlined that, considering the dissipation of inflationary pressures and in order to support the economic recovery, Bank Al-Maghrib began easing its monetary policy, reducing its key rate twice, while continuing to meet all banks’ requests for liquidity.
As for the labor market, Jouahri asserted that the domestic economy created 82,000 jobs. However, this was not sufficient to reverse the upward trend in unemployment, which averaged 13.3%.
Regarding public finances, the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib reported that fiscal consolidation is ongoing, with the deficit falling to 3.9% of GDP, thanks to the good performance of tax revenue and substantial receipts from innovative financing mechanisms.
Regarding external accounts, he pointed out that the current account deficit remained contained at 1.2% of GDP, due mainly to the continued dynamism of the automotive industry and sales of phosphate and derivatives on the one hand, and the contraction of the energy bill on the other, in addition to the flows of travel receipts and remittances from Moroccan expatriates. Overall, Bank Al-Maghrib’s official reserve assets increased to more than MAD 375 billion, equivalent to nearly five and a half months of imports of goods and services, Jouahri added.
The Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib then reviewed the achievements since the beginning of the millennium and indicated that Morocco, under the leadership of His Majesty the King, may God assist Him, has embarked on one of the most ambitious agendas of institutional, economic, and social reforms, in parallel with an unprecedented investment program to equip the Kingdom with a high-quality infrastructure.
This vision, regarded as a reference by international institutions, enabled significant progress on several fronts. However, over the past decade, with the successive shocks and the persistence of an uncertain external environment, the domestic economy posted a slowdown in growth and a weakening in the momentum of job creation.
In view of this situation, Jouahri reminded that His Majesty the King launched important reforms and projects aimed at accelerating growth and human development, along with a qualitative and quantitative upgrade of infrastructure to address challenges related to water security, and to strengthen energy and food sovereignty, as well as to prepare for the hosting of major continental and international events.
Thanks to these Royal initiatives, a strong momentum was created, suggesting that 2024 will be a pivotal year for accelerating economic growth and job creation, Jouahri added, noting that to achieve results that match the ambitions of His Majesty the King, public policy should focus on three main priorities.
According to the Governor of Bank Al Maghrib, the first is to strengthen resilience to shocks, notably by means of efficient governance, productive fabric consolidation, and mobilization of the private sector to fully play its role in investment and job creation.
The second is to enhance public policy agility, so as to improve the ability to react and adjust to changing circumstances. This requires close monitoring of the implementation and regular assessment of results, Jouahri continued.
The third priority is to continue efforts to preserve macroeconomic equilibria by pursuing, in particular, fiscal consolidation. This involves mainly speeding up the revision of the organic finance law and the introduction of a fiscal rule, as well as accelerating pension reform, he argued.
Jouahri also outlined that the conditions now appear to be in place to embed and consolidate this new momentum. It is a clear and ambitious Royal vision, articulated through large-scale economic, social, and infrastructure projects. The stability and credibility that Morocco enjoys are also strengthening its positive image and its attractiveness at the international level.
Finally, he emphasized that all of Morocco’s driving forces are called upon to better organize and fully mobilize for the implementation of this vision, especially as the Kingdom will face major milestones by 2030. According to the Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, the real challenge is to turn these milestones into a catalyst and a lever to sustain the Momentum beyond that horizon and enable the country to rise into the higher income categories.
On this occasion, Abdellatif Jouahri presented to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, the Central Bank’s annual report on the economic, monetary, and financial situation for the 2024 financial year.
Editorial team/le7tv