In an interview with Sky News Arabia, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank held in Washington from April 15 to 20, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah applauded the ongoing reform of Morocco’s floating of dirham regime. Fettah emphasized that in cooperation with the IMF, the Moroccan government is closely monitoring the progress at each stage. She added that the Dirham exchange rate operates within a 5% fluctuation band without the need for central bank’s intervention.
Nadia Fettah took the opportunity to clarify the prerequisites adopted by the Moroccan authorities to effectively implement this reform. These include maintaining macro-economic balances and overcoming recurrent crises before progressing to the next phase of the Dirham floatation process.
Fettah further stated that Morocco’s economy had shown resilience with a GDP growth rate of 3.2% in 2023, compared to just 1.2% in 2022, in a context marked by many challenges. She noted that despite ongoing drought, the government projects a growth rate of 3.4% this year, a slight decrease from the initial estimate of 3.7% as per the projections of the 2024 Finance law.
Fettah also responded to queries about the gas pipeline project linking Morocco to Nigeria. The Minister touted the progress made towards the realization of this mega project, perceived as a model for regional integration. This pipeline will traverse 14 countries, covering 5,600 kilometers, and will have a capacity of 30 to 40 billion cubic meters.
Fettah affirmed that technical studies conducted in Morocco and Nigeria would give way to further analysis, cost determination, and financing solution proposals in December.
