Morocco welcomes the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank a month after its deadly earthquake

BY SAM METZ

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — Less than a two-hour drive from where families sleep in tents and earthquake rubble remain in piles, the world’s most powerful financial institutions are gathering for a week of discussions on economic challenges during times of war, inequality and climate change.

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank decided in 2018 to host their annual meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, bringing the affair to the African continent for the first time in 50 years.

Their original timeline was delayed by the pandemic, but the meeting beginning Monday arrives at an apropos time. After a devastating earthquake last month killed nearly 3,000 and wreaked $11.7 billion in damages, both officials and civil society groups are eagerly anticipating discussions about how to promote economic resiliency in light of natural disaster.

“In no other area is the need for international cooperation as evident as in addressing the