Sorbonne Abu Dhabi hosted a lecture on growth factors in the Moroccan economy

The department of economics in the Paris - Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi hosted Henri Louis Vedie, Emeritus professor at the HEC Paris and holder of a PhD in economic science. The professor delivered a lecture about the Moroccan economy today as part of the 'Month of Morocco' functions organized by Paris - Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. Pr. Dr. Christian Chene, Head of the Departement of Law, Economics and Management, asserted that Sorbonne Abu Dhabi organized the Month of Morocco in an attempt to deepen relations between the people of both countries and ensure more openness towards other cultures. This also guaranteed an exchange of knowledge and experiences. He emphasized the importance the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi administration gave to enriching cultural and knowledge exchange leading to a number of cultural and artistic activities on campus, all contributing in shaping students' personalities and developing their innovative capacities and talent through a constructive dialogue allowing them to get a better understanding of different cultures and civilizations around the world. For his part, Henri Louis Vedie commended the UAE experience in various aspects like the economy, tourism, culture, social activities and renaissance witnessed all over the country. He described it as a model of excellence in the Arab region, underlining that this fast journey to the top was well justified and was not a mere coincidence. Pr. Louis Vedie asserted that the implementation of any development program required a number of factors that were rudimentary to its success, among which, most importantly, was the credibility of a country in pushing forward its development and that of its citizens. Second, the citizens' firm belief in leadership and its capacity to realize their ambitions. He stressed that these two conditions were clearly present in the sustainable development process in the UAE which allowed the country to position itself internationally. Louis Vedie presented the accomplishments and reforms undertaken by Morocco in its economy, which reflect a strong will that helped Morocco move away from supposed growth towards a real development. Pr. Vedie passed in review the development he witnessed in Morocco over the past decade demonstrating the decrease of inflation and unemployment rates. He also showed the results that were achieved during this period deemed satisfactory, given the regional and international circumstances. He said, "Such results cannot be a coincidence" indicating that the decrease in inflation rates were due to changes introduced to the monetary policy and to monetary liberalization, accompanied by indirect action on Bank liquidity, interest rates, activating the bonds market, modernizing the stock market and improving public fund institutions. Pr. Vedie pointed to the decrease in unemployment as well as the positive developments on the labor market and in terms of economic development in the south, all this in line with a vision of sustainable development. According to him, since the Green march the south has witnessed important and regular investments namely in roads and networks. Pr. Vedie showed that tourism was satisfactory in Morocco due to the geographic location of the Kingdom, its climate and the diversified supply it provides. As a result, Morocco became a model of economic and social development that fostered political stability, spaces of real democracy and freedom focused on a clear diversity and syndical freedoms. Pr. Vedie said Morocco had the least natural resources among the countries of the region; however, the comprehensive development it has adopted makes even some European countries envious. He also indicated that the Moroccan banking system was able to resist the international financial crisis thanks to the country's diverse economy. He added that Morocco's development relied on a comprehensive vision of development, manifested in the large scale projects under construction such as the Tangiers port, in addition to the large renewable energy program (solar and wind energy). He said that these projects were a clear indication that the country was moving towards sustainable development, accompanied by a social development program especially with the human development initiative aiming at granting greater access to facilities and basic social services, encouraging income generating activities, creating jobs and helping the underprivileged.