Morocco lauds increase of debt conversion ceiling
Morocco-Regional, Economics, 9/28/1999

Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister, Fathallah Oualalou, hailed on Monday the Paris Club's recent decision to lift the debt conversion ceiling to 30 % for developing nations.

Oualalou made the statement during the joint meeting of the interim commission of the Development Committee.

The Development Committee, which is a joint WB-IMF ministerial body, is in charge of the transfer of real resources to developing countries.

The decision will contribute to alleviating the debt burden of medium-revenue countries, which are not eligible for the mechanisms applicable to the poorest nations, he said.

A diligent implementation of the measure and the setting up of debt refinancing mechanisms can help the concerned countries have additional resources destined to the materialization of economic and social development programs, he said.

"Our group adheres to the large consensus to further deepen and widen the scope of this initiative to include the poorest countries and ensure more flexibility with a view to finding the most appropriate solutions to alleviate the burden of the highly indebted countries," Oualalou added.

The Moroccan Minister also dwelt on the efforts being made at national and multilateral levels to dispel uncertainties looming on developing nations' integration and growth.

The intensification of efforts at national and multilateral levels can contribute to appeasing the uncertainties that loom on the growth prospects and the integration of the developing countries, he said.

Oualalou imputed the uncertainties and challenges posed to the World economy to the crisis of the two past decades and to the prospects of the upcoming Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will inaugurate a new cycle of multilateral negotiations on a stronger liberalization of World trade exchanges.

National governments, regional groupings and multilateral institutions have to pool efforts to ensure the required stability "for an integrated and enriching World economy for all," he said.

The upcoming WTO conference, to be held in Seattle (USA), will debate the obstacles facing a large number of developing nations in the course of implementing the accords of the Uruguay Round. The event will also tackle the economic and social risks of a rapid liberalization in times of recession.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco calls France to contribute to Mediterranean by-pass   (7/7/1999)
  Italy agrees to convert $100 million of Moroccan debt into investment   (2/26/1999)

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