(Ecofin Agency) - The International Monetary Fund expects Morocco's GDP to decline by 6 to 7% this year.

In a statement issued on November 2, the institution attributed the situation to the combined effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the drought. While the unemployment rate is expected to rise by the end of this year, the budget and external deficits are expected to widen, due to lower tax revenues and lower foreign exchange earnings from tourism.

However, IMF says, the country showed strong resilience against the crisis that hit its economy. Thanks to the rapid response plan put in place by the government in collaboration with the Central Bank, the financial sector has managed to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, while the social assistance program has helped the population.

“The resilience of remittances and lower imports have contained Morocco’s external financing needs, and international reserves remain comfortably above last year’s levels also thanks to the purchase of the IMF precautionary liquidity line in April and the greater recourse to external financing,” the institution said.

According to the IMF, by 2021, Morocco's economy is expected to bounce back to 4.5% due to an expected decrease in the effects of drought and the pandemic, although considerable risks remain.

As a reminder, the latest African Union report indicates that Morocco has so far recorded 222,544 confirmed cases of covid-19 with 3,762 deaths and 184,313 recoveries.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou