The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that GDP growth in the Mena region will slow to 3.1% this year.
This would be close to half the rate of growth the previous year, which reached 5.3% in 2022.
According to the IMF report, the reasons for the deceleration are the introduction of tight policies to restore macroeconomic stability following the deterioration in global financial conditions and a cut in Opec production.
Indeed, GDP growth has slowed significantly among Mena oil exporters, from 5.7% to 3.1% in the space of 12 months.
Speaking at a press briefing on the report, Jihad Azour, director of Middle East and Central Asia department at the IMF, said that headline inflation in the region is projected to ease in 2023, remaining at around 12% this year before slowing further in 2024.
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