Middle East countries must do more to recover, say IMF event panelists
While oil producing countries are projected to benefit from a windfall due to high energy prices, for others the coming years "will be more challenging than ever."
DUBAI — Increasingly high commodity prices, rising inflation and tightening financial policies characterized the regional outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at its first in-person event in three years on Monday, co-hosted at the Dubai International Financial Center.
“We have to expect that the next couple of years will be more challenging than ever,” said Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF.
Despite this bleak view, a regional 5.2% real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was forecast in the IMF October 2022 Middle East and Central Asia Regional Economic Outlook report, released today.
While this is an increase from last year’s 4.1% growth, the report also predicts that growth will take a steep turn at 3.6% next year.
