Marrakech — The High-Level Ministerial Meeting on accelerating the financing of Africa’s emergence, held on Thursday on the sidelines of the WB-IMF Annual Meetings, culminated in the adoption of the “Marrakech Declaration”, which calls for a “global financial architecture that is fairer and more conducive to Africa’s development”.
In this Declaration, the 48 countries taking part in this High-Level Meeting, organized on the initiative of the Kingdom of Morocco, called for the realization of the continent’s growth priorities, which respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of African states and contribute to the fulfillment of its populations.
They also called for greater bilateral and multilateral cooperation to help African countries bridge the infrastructure gap, notably by increasing funding, providing and transferring technical and technological expertise, and building capacity.
Addressing donors, partners and friendly countries, the African countries also called for support for the emergence of a dynamic, wealth-creating private sector, capable of supporting the development of structuring infrastructure projects and bridging the infrastructure financing gap.
At this meeting, they invited the Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Morocco to work towards the follow-up of the implementation of this Declaration and the creation of an inter-African Task-Force which will be made available to the countries of the Continent to share best practices and experiences in the fields of infrastructure development and financing in Africa, to assist in the development of structuring and bankable infrastructure projects, and to support African infrastructure projects during roadshows to raise funds from potential investors.
They also called for support for the establishment and operationalization of the Inter-African Task Force as part of an open dialogue to promote infrastructure development activities in Africa.
In their Declaration, the African countries thanked His Majesty King Mohammed VI “for His leadership and commitment to strengthening inter-African cooperation, as well as the government and people of Morocco for hosting the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, and for the warm hospitality extended to all participants”.
They also congratulated the Kingdom of Morocco on its designation as host country for the 2030 World Cup, which represents a unique opportunity to catalyze growth and infrastructure modernization in the Kingdom, and which testifies to confidence in Africa’s ability to meet the greatest challenges.