King Mohammed VI of Morocco received Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of Bank Al-Maghrib, at the Royal Palace in Tétouan on Monday. During the audience, Mr. Jouahri presented the central bank’s annual report on the country’s economic, monetary, and financial situation for 2025.

Economic growth accelerates to 4.9% with moderate inflation

In his address to the Monarch, Mr. Jouahri emphasized that despite an international environment marked by successive global shocks and persistent uncertainties, Morocco’s national economy continued its upward trajectory in 2025. Driven mainly by significant investment efforts, GDP growth accelerated to reach 4.9%.

Despite this economic recovery, inflation remained well under control, averaging 0.8% throughout the year.

Regarding monetary policy, the central bank maintained an accommodative stance, lowering its key interest rate to 2.25%. Bank Al-Maghrib continued to meet all liquidity needs of commercial banks while intensifying initiatives to ease access to credit for very small enterprises (VSEs).

Labor market and fiscal health

While the economic acceleration stimulated job creation, Mr. Jouahri noted that it was not sufficient to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, which stood at 13%.

Fiscally, the budget deficit continued to shrink, reaching 3.5% of GDP. This improvement was supported by strong tax revenues and returns from innovative financing mechanisms.

Morocco’s external accounts also remained stable, buoyed by tourism revenue, remittances from Moroccans living abroad (MRA), and strong export performance in phosphates, phosphate derivatives, and aerospace. As a result, Bank Al-Maghrib’s official reserves strengthened to reach 443 billion dirhams, covering nearly five and a half months of imports.

Addressing perception gaps and structural reforms

Mr. Jouahri highlighted that while these macroeconomic indicators reflect progress toward emerging market status, sustainable gains require a more equitable distribution of growth benefits.

He pointed to a growing global phenomenon observed in Morocco in recent years: a disconnect between objectively measured economic growth and citizens’ everyday economic perceptions. This gap in Morocco, he explained, stems from two main factors:

• Slow labor market integration: employment growth has not yet met expectations. Closing this gap requires improving education and training systems, maximizing investment spillovers, advancing structural reforms, and boosting private sector participation.
• Social inequalities: referencing His Majesty the King’s 2025 Throne Speech, which warned that “there is no place, neither today nor tomorrow, for a two-speed Morocco,” Mr. Jouahri stressed that despite substantial resources allocated to social safety nets, aid must be better targeted to reach the most vulnerable segments of the population.

To preserve fiscal flexibility amid high fixed expenditures and imminent pension system reforms, the Governor called for strict resource rationalization, regular spending reviews, and accelerated reform of the organic law on finances.

Strategic reserves and climate resilience

Looking ahead, Mr. Jouahri underscored several strategic priorities for long-term resilience:

• Strategic reserves of essential goods: recurring global supply chain disruptions necessitate implementing royal directives from October 2021 to build strategic reserves of essential products, shifting from a reactive approach to a preventive policy.
• Energy transition: accelerating the transition to renewable energy will reduce external dependencies and prepare Moroccan exporters for the strict climate standards set by major trading partners.
• Water governance: given the severe impact of climate change on water resources, the management and valorization of water must be a top priority in public policies.
• Advanced regionalization: following royal directives from 2024, efforts toward advanced regionalization must continue to mobilize local talent, fostering the emergence of regional economic hubs and reducing territorial disparities.

In his closing remarks, Mr. Jouahri stressed that consolidating Morocco’s achievements requires sustained and effective coordination among all public and private actors, under the leadership of the Monarchy.

At the end of the presentation, Mr. Jouahri officially handed King Mohammed VI the central bank’s 2025 annual report, along with a commemorative gold coin minted by Bank Al-Maghrib to mark the first anniversary of the “Aid Al Wahda” initiative.