“Faced with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morocco has demonstrated remarkable responsiveness both in terms of health and in terms of economy and finance,” stressed the Kingdom’s permanent representative in Geneva, Ambassador Omar Zniber, who presented Morocco’s declaration.
The Kingdom has managed to distinguish itself as a country that was able to act during the health crisis to turn it into an opportunity and launch an ambitious reform program, through the creation of a Strategic Investment Fund to support the private sector, the overhaul of the social protection framework to promote human capital and the restructuring of the vast network of Moroccan public companies, he continued.
As part of its strategy to promote self-sufficiency and health sovereignty, and in order to contribute to international efforts in the field of vaccine manufacturing, Morocco has initiated a partnership for the local manufacturing, before the end of the current year, of vaccines, which will allow it to act more both at the continental and international levels, and to have, in particular, the capacity to provide African countries with vaccines against the coronavirus, noted the ambassador.
Mr. Zniber indicated in this sense that Morocco subscribes to the efforts of UNCTAD in favor of a more equitable global economic, commercial and financial system more conducive to development.
In this spirit, UNCTAD is well placed to respond to new challenges related to health, migration, natural disasters and climate change that impact on development, he said.
He also highlighted the multiple challenges linked to the particular context in which this conference is being held, calling for a series of “priority actions to be taken”, in particular the promotion of international action aimed at increasing the coherence and cohesion of international commercial, financial and monetary systems, as well as economic and monetary governance, in addition to increasing official development assistance to a level enabling countries in the South, particularly in Africa, to ensure adequate financing of their development policy.
It is also a question of making South-South cooperation a lever to support the recovery of the economy damaged by the pandemic, of granting the necessary aid to developing countries, particularly African countries, to enable them to promote regional value chains, the development of a sustainable solution to the indebtedness of developing countries and LDCs, argued the Moroccan diplomat.
He also called for helping these countries to put in place national policies capable of promoting foreign investment, and to promote the strengthening of export capacities, through measures to support the transfer of technologies and digitalization in order to reduce the digital divide.
Hosted by the Government of Barbados, the 15th quadrennial UNCTAD conference (3-8 October) is taking place in a virtual format with events in Barbados, Geneva and around the world on the theme “From inequality and vulnerability to prosperity for all”.
The conference is UNCTAD’s highest decision-making body, where member states assess current trade and development issues and formulate comprehensive policy responses. It also sets the organization’s work priorities for the next four years.
2024-09-03 07:19:19