International Monetary Fund Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour stated Friday that economic growth has witnessed a palpable improvement during the past period, whether oil exporting or importing countries in the region.
During a news conference on Friday, he added that the greatest challenge facing the Gulf countries is the diversification of growth and income sources and the non-reliance on the oil sector as a main source of income.
Azour noted that the economic reforms by Saudi Arabia aim at achieving this goal so that the kingdom would transform from a country that depends on oil revenues in determining its government spending and budget to a country that depends on various sectors for national income sources. This contributes in increasing the national economy.
Diversifying economy requires accelerating implementation of structural reforms that seek preparing the climate for investments and creating more job opportunities so that various economic sectors can contribute to a greater extent in the national economy.
Azour further talked about the warnings raised by IMF from the aggravation of debts in various regions of the world, noting that oil importing countries are on top of countries suffering high public debt due to the fluctuation of global oil prices.
Regarding Egypt, he stated that the economic reform program applied by the Egyptian economy contributed greatly to enhancing the domestic economy condition and improving economic indicators. But he revealed that the overall indicators’ improvement doesn’t necessarily mean a parallel improvement in credit rating.
Facing the rising tension between the United States and China, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, urged the sides to resolve their disputes through dialogue instead of waging a trade war that would damage the global economy.
At a news conference ahead of the spring meeting of the IMF and World Bank, Lagarde urged the countries to resolve their disputes without referring to exceptional measures. Moreover, a European source commented that trade doesn’t fall under the powers of the IMF.
