King Mohammed VI Meets IMF, WB Directors
Morocco, Politics, 6/22/2000

Morocco's King Mohammed VI who is on a state visit to the USA received on Wednesday separately president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn and general manager of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Kochcler.

The meetings were attended by Moroccan economy and finance minister, Fathallah Oualalou, the sovereign's advisors, Mohamed Kabbaj and Andre Azoulay, head of the king's office, Rochdi Chraibi and Morocco's ambassador to the US, Abdellah El Maaroufi.

On Tuesday, the king called during a welcome ceremony held in his honor at the White House Rose Garden by US president Bill Clinton for revising the Bretton Woods Institutions (World Bank and International Monetary Fund) to solve "the acute problem of how to finance development."

The king deplored the situation in Africa, embodied by a limited access to commercial and financial markets and a heavy debt burden.

Head of the WB department of the Maghreb, Christian Delevoie, praised in an interview with MEDI 1 Radio station --based in the Moroccan northern city of Tangier-- results of the Moroccan government program to upgrade poorest regions of the kingdom. He cited the Program to supply drinking water to rural populations (PAGER) and the rural electrification program (PERG) which positively impacted on rural populations.

He added that relatively considerable progress was achieved over the last four years as the number of schooled rural girls increased and more wells were dug. However, he went on structural reforms undertaken in the last decade are not enough to bring the targeted growth, deeming it necessary for Morocco to ponder deeply on the macro-economic framework for the coming years.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan minister in Washington for WB-IMF meeting and talks with US officials   (4/17/2000)
  Kenya's Arap Moi gets message from King Mohammed   (4/8/2000)
  Interior minister meets World Bank executives   (2/17/2000)

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