An International Monetary Fund staff team headed by Nicolas Blancher visited Morocco from the 25th to the 7th of November 2017 to conduct discussions with the Moroccan authorities on the 2017 Article IV consultation, as well as on the third review under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangement approved in July 2016, said a statement issued on Tuesday by the international organization. «In recent years, the Moroccan economy has benefited from the continuation of prudent macroeconomic policies and structural reforms. Improved fiscal management and diversification of the economy have strengthened its resilience», said Blancher following his visit to Morocco. «Unemployment, particularly among young people, is close to 10 percent. Significant structural reforms have been initiated, and it is necessary to accelerate their implementation in order to increase productivity gains and job creation, and to raise growth potential, in line with the government's medium term objectives. Key priorities include improving the quality of the education system, the functioning of the labor market, increasing female labor force participation, and strengthen efforts to further improve the business environment», he insisted. According to the same statement, the staff team sent by the IMF supports completely the authorities' intention to gradually transition to a more flexible exchange rate regime. The delegation declared that the process of implementing of this regime should take place a s soon as possible.
