2  Among all the scientific meetings that we have organized so far, this event holds a particular importance, in view of the strong participation of African researchers and of its focus on the economic issues of the Continent. For several years now, Morocco has been committed to a policy of openness to Africa to further reinforce their ties, already strong by history, geography and culture, and to promote a win-win co-development in all fields. As a central bank, our contribution lies in accompanying the banking system in its expansion and in maintaining a broad cooperation with several similar institutions of the continent. Today, we are pleased to pursue this contribution for the benefit of research. Ladies and gentlemen, Africa, as we know, performs poorly in the field of research. The Continent, now home to nearly 17 percent of the world's population and more than one quarter by 2050, produces only 5 percent of the wealth, measured by the purchasing power parity, and contributes to the world’s scientific publications by no more than 2.6 percent, according to the latest UNESCO Science Report published in 2015. In Morocco, we are well aware that developing human capital and research is not an easy task. Despite the strong will and a budgetary effort of around 6 percent of GDP, we still struggle to put our education system on track to provide the skills adequate for the labor market and to develop research and innovation.
In Germany, it is a widely held belief that last Thursday, the ECB changed its monetary policy paradigm, that it is no longer the orthodoxy of the Bundesbank, as promised at the time the euro was created. The German audience should acknowledge that it is not a question of a different monetary paradigm. We need to deliver on our primary mandate, which is price stability in the medium term. This is a strategy which we inherited from the Bundesbank. Only the instruments are new. This could not have been foreseen in 1992, but in the Treaty it is nevertheless clear that the ECB can conduct monetary policy by means of asset purchases. And yet the Germans are still concerned. They are rightly concerned about the possible side effects of QE: the creation of asset bubbles and reduced incentives for countries to initiate reforms and reduce their debt. However, the response cannot be to ask the central bank to internalise these unwanted consequences. We have a narrow mandate. Instead, we need strong prudential policies and, in terms of fiscal policy, the strict application of the Stability and Growth Pact. But was it necessary to humiliate the Bundesbank? No such thing occurred. There was unanimity in the Governing Council that asset purchases are a legitimate monetary policy instrument. And then we discussed when to use it and whether the situation was bad enough to decide to use it.