The Ministry of Economy and Finance, organizes at the headquarters of the General Treasury of the Kingdom the December 16 and 17 in Rabat, in partnership with the Association for the International Foundation for Public Finance (FONDAFIP) and with the support of the Revue Française de Finances Publiques (RFFP), the 15th edition of the international symposium on public finance under the theme ” What model of public finance governance in a world of multiple crises? “.
The work of this symposium began with a speech by Noureddine Bensouda, Treasurer General of the Kingdom of Morocco, and a message read on behalf of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, who affirmed that this year’s theme gave pride of place to the multiple crises that the world is experiencing, the covid-19 crisis and especially the conflict in Ukraine, with negative impacts on the world economy which hardly allow a return to growth.
These crises have repercussions on commodity markets, including a number of once prolific sectors which are now paying a heavy price. International trade is affected and global inflation combined with weak growth forces advanced countries to implement more restrictive monetary policies and tightens financing conditions for emerging and developing countries.
” Several episodes of crises have had a particularly significant impact on economic activity and public finances since the 1980s. Environmental and societal challenges, all of the economic changes are all major contextual elements. I would like to emphasize the convergence of views between France and Morocco. Our two countries have taken a converging path for major modern financial reforms,” declared Cécile Humbert-Bouvier, head of the Regional Economic Service of the French Embassy in Morocco, who replaced the charge d’affaires – who was unable to join this conference due to the presence in Morocco of the des Affaires French foreigners, Catherine Colonna to talk with Nasser Bourita and prepare for a state visit to Morocco by Emmanuel Macron.
And to support that France implemented its organic law relating to finance laws in 2001 and Morocco in 2016, each country having adopted a parallel performance approach in its management of public finances.
“I commend the quality and consistency of Franco-Moroccan cooperation in the area of public finance, as evidenced by the success of the twinning integrated into the EU’s Hakama program, in the case of implementation at the Kingdom’s Treasury in the framework of public finance management reforms”, she continued.
For her part, Marie-Christine Esclassan, professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, secretary general of FONDAFIP, and director of the Revue Française des Finances Publiques (RFFP) quoting Nadia Fettah praised the Moroccan woman at length: “ Morocco has had a pioneering role in women’s access to positions of responsibility and in particular in the sense of equality between men and women. If the thing is quite common for social ministries, it is not widespread in the field of public finance “.
Moreover, before giving the floor to Noureddine Bensouda for an introductory report, she will highlight the distinction of sport in Morocco and she “ praised the spectacular victory of the Atlas Lions in the World Cup “.
The Treasurer General of the Kingdom, he did not go there by four paths: ” The state must adapt its role and missions to new economic and social realities, while relying on institutions, laws and formal rules, he said.
And to add, that “ it is in fact about governance, based on a medium and long-term strategic vision, which constitutes an art of implementation, an art of action, an art of designing systems consistent with the objectives pursued “, he underlined.
Noureddine Bensouda, in this sense, noted that moments of crisis ” are not only made up of difficulties and shocks that we have to face, but also represent opportunities to reform public finances, in order to clean them up and restore room for maneuver “.
He also emphasized the need to improve the extractive capacity of financial and human resources with the optimization of their use as one of the most important reforms to be implemented.
The Treasurer General of the Kingdom, at the same time, noted the imperative to go through a renewal of economic concepts, which takes into account the realities of the 21st century, in order to succeed in the recovery of the economy and public finances in a multi-crisis context.
” Finding lasting solutions to the current crises and risks and putting the economy and public finances back on growth and sustainability trajectories therefore requires the renewal of economic concepts, the legislative and regulatory framework and the tools and instruments, taking into account the realities of the 21st century “, he said, highlighting the importance of reducing social, spatial, heritage, income and intelligence inequalities, as a guarantee of maintaining social cohesion.
The Treasurer General of the Kingdom also stressed the importance of prioritizing education and the training of human resources in meeting the real challenges of the 21st century, characterized in particular by an unprecedented economic and social situation, marked by a confluence of crises and major risks, namely the health crisis, the geopolitical crisis, the breakdown of supply chains, the food crisis, inflation, the debt crisis and the rise in interest rates.
Michel Bouvier, professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, President of FONDAFIP, Director of the Revue Française de Finances Publiques, reviewed the various shocks that the world is currently going through and highlighted the character ” unsuitable” of the public financial governance model in the face of a multiplicity of crises.
Also in this respect, he sounded the alarm against the difficulty and the inability to control the evolution of public expenditure, the evolution of the fiscal pressure, of the public debt and of the public deficits, in spite of the sophistication of management control tools, which highlights the existence of ” a flaw in the regulatory process “.
Two other speeches were subsequently given by, respectively, Mohammed Tawfik Mouline, Director General of the Royal Institute for Strategic Studies and Jean Arthuis, former French Minister of Economy and Finance, followed by a debate that closed this first day of the XVth symposium.
The latter’s work will continue on Saturday and will revolve around three panels on models for regulating decision-making in public finance and public financial management, as well as on the three fundamentals of a public finance model with national and international personalities including ministers in office.
15th International Colloquium on Public Finances: rethinking them differently