(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) U.S., WASHINGTON, April 18. Economic growth toremain robust in Caucasus and Central Asia in 2024, said JihadAzour, Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF,during a briefing held as part of the IMF Spring Meetings inWashington, Trend reports.
“Growth in the Middle East and North Africa is weighed down byconflicts, lower oil production, trade disruptions, and high debt are exceptionally high. Growth in the Caucasus and CentralAsia remains resilient, supported by positive trade and financialflows. CCA growth is expected to stand at 3.9 percent in 2024 and4.8 percent in 2025, while MENA growth is set to amount to 2.7percent in 2024 and 4.2 percent in 2025,” he said.
Azour pointed out that even 10 years after a severe conflict,percapita income for an economy in the Middle East and Central Asiaremains about 10 percent lower than conflict-affected stateselsewhere.
“Uneven recovery is expected among MENA and CCA economies. Whileinflation is receding in line with global trends in most countries,growth prospects are diverging between entities. Starting withMENA, the conflict in Gaza and Israel has caused immense suffering addition, Red Sea shipping disruptions have added to existingvulnerabilities,” said the IMF department director.
He went on to add that conflicts are adversely impactingactivity in some fragile and low income countries.
“Our analysis shows that conflict not only causes lasting humanand social costs but also can lead to large and persistent outputlosses with potential spillovers to other countries. For CCAeconomies, we project growth this year to remain robust. Inaddition, trade diversion is reshaping trade in the CCA region,” hesaid.
Azour noted that the second issue is inflation.
“Inflation is receding in line with global trends and isapproaching historical trend in many economies with about 1/3 nowclose to or even below average and monetary tightening cyclesappeared to have ended in most economies. Next year, in the CCA themajority of country inflation is below or close to targets is forecast to ease from 7.7 percent in 2024 to 7.1percent next year,” he said.
The Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and theWorld Bank Group kicked off on April 15.
The main ministerial meetings and events will take place April17-19 with other events and activities taking place during theweek, April 15-20.
At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the jointDevelopment Committee and the IMF's International Monetary andFinancial Committee, which discuss progress on the work of theWorld Bank Group and the IMF.
The Spring Meetings bring together central bankers, ministers offinance and development, parliamentarians, private sectorexecutives, representatives from civil society organizations andacademics to discuss issues of global concern, including the worldeconomic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, andaid effectiveness.
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