Morocco Seeks $400 Million World Bank Loan to Combat COVID-19 Economic Impact

This loan request is in line with the World Bank’s program to support developing countries in addressing the economic and social repercussions of the Covid-19 crisis. "This World Bank program finances various health, social or economic expenditures. It is not the World Bank that chooses the programs to be financed, but the institution aligns itself with the programs launched by the States and provides support to these programs," explains a source close to the file to Médias24.

The same source indicates that Morocco has chosen to highlight the cash transfer operations carried out to help vulnerable populations, particularly the Tadamon operation targeting the informal sector populations. The kingdom will also partially finance the expenses already incurred in the cash transfer operations, carried out between April and July, in favor of a portion of the population. Similarly, the loan takes into account the financing of the Tayssir program and assistance in the social protection expansion project.

"This is a very special operation that Morocco is setting up with the World Bank. Because it is a retroactive loan that will finance expenditures already incurred by the government. (...) The project is still under negotiation. Discussions with the World Bank will end next week. That’s when we’ll know if the project will come to fruition or not. Because the World Bank may approve the project, but Morocco may decide not to use this financing mechanism. It will all depend on the conditions that will be required by the World Bank...," explains the same source.