The pan-African infrastructure investment platform “Africa50” is called upon to fully play its role as a catalyst for investments and a driving force for the development of Africa, underlined Tuesday in Marrakech, the Minister of Economy and Finance , Nadia Fettah Alaoui.
“Africa50, with the support of its shareholders and international institutions working in this direction, is called upon to fully play its role of scout, catalyst of investments and driving force for the development of Africa”noted the minister who was speaking at the opening of the work of the general assembly of shareholders of Africa50, an event placed under the High Patronage of King Mohammed VI.
Nadia Fettah Alaoui, also co-chair of the Board of Directors of Africa50, did not fail to recognize that the challenge remains “Immense, but there is hope because it is obvious that we will never be able to build the prosperous and just world that we are all calling for, without Africa”.
In this sense, the minister made it known that this general assembly “takes place at a crucial time when we need strong, innovative and bold responses to accelerate the pace of infrastructure delivery in Africa”.
Thus, the realization of priority projects for Africa, in the context of post-Covid recovery, requires the mobilization of significant resources which cannot be provided by States alone, said Nadia Fettah Alaoui. “Given the scale of the projects to be carried out, public finances alone will not be able to finance the development of the Continent, especially since the latter have been greatly weakened by the crisis linked to Covid-19”she noted, believing that it is essential to appeal to private capital, at the national and international level in particular, to meet these African challenges and to include the financing approach in a logic of public-private partnership.
The Minister called, in this regard, to strengthen the agility of African economies to meet the challenges of sustainable and inclusive development through strong and sustained support for priority sectors, particularly in the field of infrastructure.
“Thus, African countries, like Morocco, have significant infrastructure needs. Moreover, and in accordance with the 2063 agenda, Africa aims to put in place world-class infrastructures in order to promote the connectivity of the Continent”she said, adding that these investments would be all the more important as today’s world is experiencing major changes in the restructuring of global value chains.
In this sense, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, did not fail to recall that for Morocco, “The vision for cooperation with other African countries is not new. On the contrary, it has been taken to the highest peak by His Majesty King Mohammed VI for several years”.
“Cooperation between Morocco and Africa is indeed of particular importance. The unique and historical ties that unite us have militated in favor of a stronger consolidation of Morocco’s multifaceted relations within its African family,” said Nadia Fettah Alaoui.
He continued that the strengthening of economic cooperation has resulted in the intensification of trade and investment flows, adding that substantial investments have been made by several Moroccan companies operating in various sectors: banks, insurance, telecommunications, construction, energy, agriculture….., able to make the Kingdom one of the main African investors in the Continent.
This cooperation is expected to accelerate further following the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAF), which will allow all parties to take advantage of the various opportunities offered by deeper and more advanced integration. of Africa, she said.
Held under the theme “An Accelerated and Resilient Recovery”, the Africa50 General Meeting of Shareholders brings together several African finance ministers and other government officials, as well as heads of institutions, diplomats and business leaders. from Morocco, Africa and elsewhere.
Africa50 is an investment platform created by African Heads of State and the AfDB, whose mandate is to develop and invest in infrastructure projects with high impact in terms of development, through the mobilization of public funds and private, while offering an attractive return to investors.
.