U.S. Treasury Chief Janet Yellen expressed her trust in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) leadership to modify their upcoming annual sessions in Morocco, considering the recent catastrophic earthquake there.
Despite the quake, which claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people in the High Atlas Mountains, leaders announced that the Marrakech meetings would continue, though with adjustments due to the tragedy.
When asked about the alterations to the event, which anticipated over 10,000 attendees, Yellen deferred to the decision-making of the aforementioned institutions and the Moroccan government.
She emphasized the importance of honoring the disaster’s victims and supporting first responders.
Yellen also noted that she’d understand if the sessions were relocated and would back any changes deemed suitable by the involved parties.
“This is what the government of Morocco strongly wants. It wants the meetings to go on and feels it’s able to do what’s necessary,” she said. “We want to be helpful for the people in Morocco.”
Georgieva recently told Reuters that Morocco’s prime minister told her it would be “quite devastating” for Morocco’s hospitality sector if the meetings were moved to a different location.
The World Bank expressed its full solidarity for Morocco in the wake of the devastating earthquake that recently struck the country, killing and injuring hundreds of people.
“Our hearts go out to the people of Morocco, who are suffering the effects of devastating earthquakes that have caused a tragic loss of life, injuries, and damages in the areas south of Marrakech,” the statement read.
The bank added: “We have relayed our profound condolences to the Kingdom at the highest levels and offered our full support to the country in the wake of this catastrophe.”
“Our sole focus at this stage is on the Moroccan people and the authorities who are dealing with this tragedy.”
