"The State has managed to cope with this exceptional situation, through the mobilization of internal resources and the launch of social initiatives, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, with the support of the government," Lahlimi said in an interview with the Spanish news agency "EFE".

 "Morocco has responded to this crisis with sufficient initiatives, courage and anticipation and the creation of an economic and social support fund, through the mobilization of internal resources," he noted, welcoming the support of the entire Moroccan society to this momentum.

Noting that the pandemic will have a definite impact on the various sectors of activity, with a negative growth rate for the year 2020, the high commissioner for Planning stressed that Morocco should start thinking about the post-crisis phase and planning future strategic projects which, according to him, must place the environment and humans at the centre of concerns.

 Morocco, he explained, cannot escape the difficult situation faced by several countries in the region, particularly those of the European Union, with which it develops 70% of its trade.

He noted that "in the post-crisis phase, the State must be a driver of development, not a welfare State, but a strategic State and a mobilizer of resources. I am rather in favor of a planned economy, with plans open to the future, and not administrative planning like the one we had in the 1960s," he recommended.

 Lahlimi also said that he is in favor of resorting to internal or external indebtedness when necessary to finance investment rather than recurrent expenditure, even if this would increase the public deficit.