RABAT, February 17, 2023 - World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Axel van Trotsenburg, will be in Morocco for a visit from February 20 to 22 to reiterate the WBG’s commitment to support the country. This will be Mr. van Trotsenburg's first official visit to Morocco as the World Bank's Managing Director of Operations.
During his visit, Mr. van Trotsenburg will meet with senior government officials as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society organizations, think tanks, and youth in the lead-up to the 2023 World Bank Group – International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, to be hosted in Marrakech October 9-15, 2023.
"The upcoming Annual Meetings in Morocco will provide an excellent opportunity to build and strengthen relationships among the international community while advancing the dialogue on key development priorities. The preparations for these meetings are well underway, and we will continue to work closely with the Government of Morocco and the International Monetary Fund over the coming months to make these Annual Meetings a success," said van Trotsenburg, "The meetings will also provide an opportunity to showcase Morocco's development successes, and I look forward to seeing some of these achievements firsthand during this visit."
On February 21, van Trotsenburg will co-chair a global event on gender equity, "Empowering Women to Shape the Future of Jobs," in Benguerir. The event is co-organized by the World Bank, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). The high-level convening will discuss the role of women - as leaders and agents of change in the labor market and within economies - in light of the structural changes and green transition facing countries around the world.
Van Trotsenburg will be accompanied by the World Bank's Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, Ferid Belhaj, and the Director for the Maghreb and Malta, Jesko Hentschel.
The World Bank currently finances 23 projects in Morocco, amounting to a total volume of $6.01 billion (MAD 62 billion). The projects cover a variety of socio-economic initiatives aiming to advance nationwide development, poverty reduction and social inclusion while addressing or mitigating the effects of climate change on the country’s economy particularly, in the agriculture sector.
