Morocco will host the 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund

Morocco is beginning to prepare for this major meeting on a global scale. The Kingdom will host, from October 9 to 15, 2023, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, thus marking the return of these two major meetings to the African continent.

Nearly 14,000 high-level participants are expected. The choice of Morocco is a strong sign of the recognition of the Moroccan experience in the organization of international events.

This appointment has great symbolism, it marks the return of these Annual Meetings to Africa after they were held for the first time in Nairobi (Kenya) in 1973. It also affirms Morocco’s position on the African continent and the Mena region.

The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are the major annual meeting of the international financial community, bringing together personalities, finance ministers and central bank governors from 189 countries. members of these institutions, as well as representatives of the private sector, NGOs and universities.

The choice of Morocco testifies to the proven capacity of the Kingdom as a privileged destination for the organization of major international conferences and the choice of Marrakech reinforces its reputation as an international city open to the world. 

The Meetings will be held at Bab Ighli, formerly the main entrance to the old town (the medina), which takes its name from the guards in charge of protecting access. Bab Ighli, a vast expanse of over 300 hectares outside the city walls towards the Ourika Valley, was the venue for the climate COP22 in November 2016, hosting some 30 000 participants, as well as the first African Summit on Climate Action.

In 2014, the 5th Global Entrepreneurship Summit was held at the same venue, bringing together Heads of State. Given the high level of stakeholder participation, the 2023 Annual Meetings offer the Kingdom the opportunity to strengthen its attractiveness and promote its image presented as “a stable and tolerant, open and dynamic country, rich in its intangible heritage, its secular history, its culture, its gastronomy, and also marked by the progress made over the past 20 years on the democratic, social and economic levels”.

Morocco is an ideal location for the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, which is one of the largest and most open gatherings of economic decision-makers from around the world. “We are grateful to Morocco for having agreed to organize these meetings”, underlines Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the IMF, describing the Kingdom as “an increasingly essential economic player and a gateway to Africa. and the Middle East”.