Announcement of Consultative Group for Morocco Meets in Paris on November 18, 1970

IV1'0RLD BANK i INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR ~ t .RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMF"NT Ltn "t~>~···/ 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 November 18, 1970 Subject: Consultative Group for Morocco The following announcement was issued today at the World Bank's European Office in Paris: "The third meeting of the Consultative Group on development assistance to Morocco was held in Paris on November 17 and 18, 1970, under the chairmanship of the World Bank. Members of the Group attending the meeting were Belgium, Canada, . France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, the.• United Kingdom, the United States, the Inter- national Monetary Fund and th~ United Nations Development Progranune. Attending as ob~ervers were representatives of the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the European Investment Bank and OECD/DAC. The Moroccan delegation was headed by His Excellency • Abdelkrim Lazrak, Minister of Finance. "The Group heard reports by the Bank and the Minister on Morocco's current economic situation and its plans for the future. It discussed ways in which mem- bers of the Group could contribute to Moroccan development. The Minister explained the progress of the Development Plan 1968-1972 with its emphasis on agriculture, tourism and manpower development, and the measures which the Government was taking to mobilize the internal resources to help carry them out~ It was. generally recog- ni.ied that continued assistance from members of the Group was necessary if the ob- jectives of the plan were to be met. "Members of the Group expressed sat.isfa~tion with the progress which Morocco had made since the first .meeting of the Group. The Group concluded that Morocco's recent economic performance and development prospects justified continued assistance from members of the Group in order to maintain and increase the momentum already achieved. Members also described the size and character of their respective p~o- grams of assistance to Morocco. Members of the Group recognized that, given the • amount of external assistance required, Morocco might have increasing problems of debt service in the future and urged that terms of lending not be permitted to harden and that aid continue to be made available on concessionary terms. The Group agreed to meet again late in 1971." - 0 -