By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Moroccan government wants to proceed with International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings scheduled for October in Marrakech despite Friday’s devastating earthquake that has killed nearly 2,900 people, two sources familiar with the meeting planning said on Monday.
“From the viewpoint of the Moroccan authorities, the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank will take place as scheduled: October 9-15, 2023. There is no change of plan as of now,” one of the people, a source close to the Moroccan government, told Reuters.
The people were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
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The IMF and World Bank declined to comment on Morocco’s position on the meetings, referring Reuters to a joint weekend statement with India, France, the European Union and the African Union that expressed condolences for the loss of life and damage and spoke of “our willingness to support Morocco in the best possible way,” including addressing urgent short-term financial needs.
Both institutions had said their immediate focus was on the initial response to the disaster.
The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck in the High Atlas Mountains, 45 miles (72 kilometres) southwest of Marrakech continued to climb on Monday, reaching 2,862, while the number of injured topped 2,562, according to state television.
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The collapse of the traditional mud brick houses into earthen rubble in the hardest-hit areas has made the search for survivors particularly difficult.
Marrakech suffered some damage in its ancient city centre, but more modern parts of the city have largely escaped damage. The site for the IMF and World Bank meetings, a campus of temporary structures on the city’s outskirts near the airport, is largely intact, and preparation work is continuing, one of the sources said.
Bloomberg had earlier reported that Moroccan officials were expecting the meetings to proceed.
