A new strategy to strengthen World Bank partnership with the Kingdom of Morocco

A new Partnership Strategy for Morocco has been approved by the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank. Entitled Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), defines the pillars of the development program, where the Government of Morocco, the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation will be working in partnership. It identifies the areas where the World Bank Group will have an added value in the economic and social development of Morocco.

A Partnership Framework and not an Assistance Strategy (CAS)

Built in the concept of “partnership”, the CPS is different from the previous Country Assistance Strategy (CAS 2005-2009) in:

• Its flexibility. It does not offer rigid and predetermined collaboration scenarios, or a detailed lending program, but rather presents strategic directions and indicative lending and analytical activities program for the short term.
  
  
• Close collaboration in the choice of programs, in the context of the dialogue with the governement. The CPS provides a concerted set of priority action lines, agreed upon between the government and the World Bank Group.
  
  
• Built in the country's development vision and program. There is a consensus on diagnosis in terms of development challenges and on the expected outcome and priority programs.

The CPS ensures continuity in the World Bank Group support to Morocco, as well as opportunities for scaling up and expanding engagement to new areas. In addition to consolidating the 2005-2009 CAS Strategic Objectives, the CPS pledges selectivity in the institution’s engagement and focuses the partnership program on activities where the World Bank Group can bring value added.

The World Bank will particularly support in facing long term challenges, mainly in reforms implementation.

Four years program with three strategic axes

Covering 4 years period (2010-2013), the new strategy proposes three thematic pillars aligned with the development priorities of the country:

1. Enhance growth, competitiveness and employment: The structural transformation of the Moroccan economy requires a comprehensive and coordinated set of policies in many areas.
   These include a stable macroeconomic environment; an improved business environment; a trade policy that supports the competitiveness of Moroccan products; a financial sector that better serves smaller firms; a labor force that is better trained and effective social protection and labor market institutions. While progress has been made in all these areas, there is a strong need to increase the impact of reforms and the private sector response.
   The World Bank is committed to support the government to enhance Growth, Competitiveness and Employment.
   
   
2. Improve service delivery to citizens: Reducing social disparities and closing the gap between efforts and results requires a closer attention to the effectiveness of the public administration and the outcomes of public policies and investments.
   Activities under this pillar aim to support the government to enhance access to and quality of service delivery for all citizens.
   
   
3. Ensure environmental sustainability in the context of a changing climate: Morocco’s future economic development is vulnerable to energy supply disruption and price volatility, water scarcity and natural resource depletion. Climate change impacts are already felt today. Activities under the third CPS Pillar aim to support government’s renewed attention to long standing environmental sustainability issues and future challenges brought about by climate change

The CPS also proposes two cross-cutting “beams” - governance and territoriality:

• Territoriality: The Bank will support the government’s objective to foster spatially inclusive development, and to increase the role of local government, its performance, accountability, and empowerment.
  
  
• Governance: The World Bank Group will support the government’s governance approach and program. The Bank will also support institutional development at the national and local levels. Improved public expenditure will be pursued through capacity to measure results and orient service delivery to outcomes.

“This CPS witnesses the solid partnership between the Government of Morocco and the World Bank Group. We are committed to accompany Morocco on its reform process, to support the country’s development agenda and to make available the World Bank Group’s knowledge, international experience and best practices to the benefit of the whole country”, said M. Mats Karlsson, World Bank Country Director for Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Malta.

A lending of $600 million annually

The CPS proposes a lending program of US 600 million dollars per year as the World Bank’s contribution to the Government of Morocco needs for external funding. This level is confirmed for FY10, with lending levels for FY11-13 indicative. This complements the World Bank’s technical assistance and knowledge transfer activities in Morocco, the core of the World Bank’s program in the country.

A Partnership Strategy prepared in a participatory framework

The preparation of the Country Partnership Strategy involved extensive consultations with different Civil Society Organizations, youth, academics, private sector representatives and other donors. These meetings enabled a rich exchange of views and engaging in a free and open dialogue, quite unique in the Middle East and North Africa Region.