strengthen their economic, social and political status. i would like, if i may, to illustrate further on this referring to my home country and the institution i have the honor to lead. ladies and gentlemen, since many years now, morocco engaged in a process of improving the situation of women, ratifying several international conventions and complying with un instruments on human rights in general and women rights in particular. since the beginning of the millennium, the process of modernizing society was hastened with major reforms aimed at entrenching the principle of gender equality and equity. in 2004, the civil status act ( moudawana ) was amended and the status of women in the family further strengthened. in 2011, the country approved a new constitution that enshrines human rights and gender equality. several laws have been adopted to ensure the harmonization of national legislation with international instruments that morocco ratified and whose primacy are now recognized over its domestic laws. in the same vein, and to coordinate the various initiatives aimed at promoting gender equality and including women ’ s rights in public policies and development programs, a governmental plan for equality entitled “ icram ” was developed for the period 2012 - 2016 and was later on expanded and extended until 2021. at the same time, a specific strategy for institutionalizing the principle of gender equality in the civil service was adopted in 2016. expo 2020 dubai women on boards key issues and challenges in the mena region speech of mr. abdellatif jouahri governor of bank al - maghrib ( moroccan central bank ) today, the real challenge remains to succeed in the effective implementation of these laws and programs and to ensure a regular and close monitoring, which is hardly an easy task. ladies and gentlemen, speeding up efforts to strengthen the economic role of women and reduce gender inequalities requires the mobilization of all stakeholders, government authorities, civil society, public and private institutions and national and international organizations. central banks, as regulators, can play their own role in this endeavor. at bank al - maghrib, we are continuously working to improve the representation of women in the boards of credit institutions through a gradual approach. for instance, in 2014 we laid down the obligation for such bodies to implement a policy aimed at ensuring a better representation of women. two years later, this directive was reinforced by making compulsory compliance with the principle of parity in the appointment of independent directors. our efforts in this regard are still ongoing with a new regulatory recommendation aimed at bringing the banking

s economic integration to induce the desired prosperity, we need, besides the aforementioned conditions, to ensure that it is inclusive, mutually beneficial, and that it does not, above all, come at the expense of the most vulnerable countries and populations. ladies and gentlemen, in morocco, this has always been the preferred approach. believing in the virtues of free trade and market rules, the country has opted since the 1980s for openness and informed economic liberalism, where the quest fo9r efficiency and competitiveness is not to the detriment of social considerations and solidarity. 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches in this respect, morocco's geographical and historical proximity to europe has not diverted it from forging partnerships throughout the world, and has, above all, never been at the cost of its african identity. his late majesty hassan ii used to say that " morocco is a tree whose roots are deeply anchored in africa and whose branches extend into europe ". the continent has always been at the heart of the country's strategic orientations, as reflected in many speeches made by his majesty king mohammed vi over the last quarter of a century. his majesty has often called for a win - win co - development and rolled out major projects like the morocco - nigeria gas pipeline, which should help diversify energy supplies for many countries on the continent, the contribution in ensuring food security on the continent, as well as the atlantic initiative, which aims to facilitate the commercial integration of several landlocked countries. our public policies on trade and investment generally dedicate a largely tailored and favorable treatment to relations with the rest of the continent, hence facilitating the establishment of several moroccan groups in financial services, mining, telecoms, real estate, etc. the development of casablanca finance city also falls within this approach and strives to create a regional financial and multiservice hub geared toward africa. the country is also home to the headquarters of africa50 and is working on its development to promote and facilitate investment in infrastructure. ladies and gentlemen, at bank al - maghrib, our international relations fall within this global vision charted by his majesty. we have encouraged and supported the banking sector to develop its external growth drivers in africa. we ensure that this expansion makes a real contribution to the development of host countries. moroccan banks are now present in over thirty countries on the continent, where they generate almost 23 percent of their business. as a central bank, we maintain close experience and expertise - sharing ties with many of the