New Country Partnership Framework between the Kingdom of Morocco and the World Bank Group (WBG) - 2019-2024

The Kingdom of Morocco is at a critical juncture in its development. Under the leadership of His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, a new development model is under preparation to set the country on track to meet the challenges of global competition, national social cohesion, job creation and human capital development. To defi ne the critical areas of World Bank Group’s engagement and support to Morocco’s long-term development goals, a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) has been launched for the years 2019-2024. The CPF builds upon the priorities of the government program (2017-2021) and on the WBG’s comparative advantages based on lessons learnt from the previous Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2014-2017, extended analysis of Morocco’s current challenges and opportunities, and consultations with a large set of national constituencies. While the name has changed from Country Partnership Strategy to Country Partnership Framework, the document plays the same role of mapping out WB financial and technical support over the next 5 years.

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PREVIOUS CPS:

The implementation experience of the CPS provides important lessons for the new Partnership Framework:

• WBG’s support to key reforms was critical to mobilize consensus on broad institutional and policy reforms. In the coming phase, effective implementation of reforms will be emphasized for a greater focus on outcomes.

• Deepening and developing effective mechanisms for citizen engagement as an effective way to help build a stronger relationship between citizens and their government and improve service delivery at a local level.

• Designing effective Results framework with realistic indicators to consolidate the WBG’s financing and knowledge program for maximum impact and results monitoring.

• The WBG’s knowledge programs and exchange with peer and leading countries represent the cornerstone of WBG’s engagement. They contribute to policy dialogue, design of programs and results achievements.

ANALYTICAL UNDERPINNINGS FOR THE NEW CPF:

The Country Economic Memorandum titled Morocco 2040, Emerging by Investing in Intangible Capital launched in 2017, the Systematic Country Diagnosis (SCD) completed in 2018, and the Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) represent three major analytical underpinnings that informed the new CPF priorities and areas of focus.

While the Memorandum recommended a greater focus on Morocco’s intangible capital to facilitate long-term development outcomes, the SCD invited a greater reflection on how to move the efficiency frontier in Morocco to increase productivity gains and recommended greater eff orts to address social and economic inclusion to spur development and prosperity in Morocco.

The CPSD helped identify the reforms needed to unlock private sector growth and the priority areas where public and private sector (MFD) investments could complement each other to boost infrastructure, education and capital market development. Findings from these analytical pieces were embedded in the strategic objectives of the new CPF.

STRUCTURE OF THE NEW CPF:

The CPF is aimed at on interventions with transformational impact. It will combine World Bank Group’s support instruments including financial support, technical assistance, knowledge sharing and South-South exchanges.

The CPF will also rely on the joint support of the World Bank Group’s development agencies, including the World Bank (IBRD), IFC (International Finance Corporation) and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) to structure an adapted and innovative response to Morocco’s development stakes in the coming phase. As a flexible framework, the CPF can easily adapt to the country’s changing priorities and development context going forward.