IMF, World Bank to hold annual meeting in Morocco

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are gathering in Marrakech, Morocco this week for their annual meeting. It has been fifty years since their last gathering on the continent.

The two institutions traditionally hold their week-long meeting away from their Washington headquarters every two or three years. After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the threat of a third delay due to last month’s earthquake in Morocco, the meeting will finally kick off.

The choice of location is particularly significant given the numerous challenges Africa is facing.

Several countries are struggling with a debt crisis, while the consequences of climate change and a poverty rate which is reducing at a slower rate than elsewhere are hitting the continent hard.