Against a backdrop of climate crisis, economic recession and global geopolitical tensions, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) open on 9 October 2023 in the recently earthquake-hit Moroccan city of Marrakech.
For four consecutive years now, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not been held outside Washington DC in the United States of America due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the 2023 edition,this economic meeting, one of the largest on the planet, will bring together 14,000 participants
from 9 to 15 October 2023 in the tourist city of Marrakech in Morocco.
For seven days, development players, including central bank governors, finance ministers, investors, academics and representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), will be examining contemporary issues at a time when armed conflicts (Ukraine, Sudan, etc.), the climate crisis (melting polar ice in the Arctic, spectacular floods in Libya in September 2023, a resurgence of forest fires in Algeria, etc.) are slowing down the global economy.
These recurring situations are beginning to impact gross domestic product (GDP) and exacerbate inflationary pressures around the world, notably in Iran (42.5%), Sierra Leone (37.8%), Ethiopia (31.4%), Egypt (21.6%), Hungary (17.7%), Lebanon (155%) and Venezuela, where consumer price inflation is approaching 400%. A number of workshops will be held in the most visited city in the Kingdom of Morocco.
These include conferences on: “African perspectives on reforms to the international financial architecture”; “How can the World Bank strengthen long-term resilience and equity in the global food system”; “New Economy Forum: Artificial Intelligence – Potential for a quantum leap in Africa”; “Skills and workforce development for green and digital transformation”; and “Aligning climate finance with decarbonisation in the transport sector”.
Read also : MOROCCO: after the earthquake, $1.3b from the IMF to build resilient, green cities
These discussions will be specially coordinated by high-level leaders. They include Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, Leila Benali, Morocco’s Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and her Saudi Arabian counterpart Mohammed Al Jaadan, in charge of Finance.
For more information on the event, click here.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi, special envoy to Morocco
