Morocco to Enter Economic Growth Spurt After Avoiding Arab Spring Setbacks

According to Morocco's Central Bank, the country being a diverse economy with no reliance on a single product, the non-agricultural sectors have experienced a growth of about 5 percent. These include the textile, automotive and aeronautics sectors.

MOSCOW, December 28 (Sputnik) — Morocco is forecast to enter a growth phase after managing to avoid the setbacks of the 2011 Arab Spring, according to the country's central bank.

"We have been able to go through this period with the least possible damage … When you do the balance of payments analysis, you see there are good opportunities for growth in Morocco," the country's central bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri, was quoted as saying by the Financial Times on Sunday.

Jouahri pointed out that being a diverse economy with no reliance on a single product, the non-agricultural sectors had experienced a growth of about 5 percent. These include the textile, automotive and aeronautics sectors.

"We have a bit of everything, that helped us get through the difficulties," he added.

Although Morocco experienced a budget deficit of up to 5.4 percent in 2012, Jouahri said that he expected it would fall to 3 percent by 2017.

However, the country's economy is still fragile and highly dependent on remittances from Moroccan workers in Europe, according to the Financial Times.

Morocco gave permits to demonstrators in the wake of the Arab Spring and implemented constitutional reforms to have a moderate Islamist government. This gave the country a certain level of stability by avoiding a violent uprising, unlike other Arab Spring countries as Libya and Egypt.