Media ININ Economy We Trust
Abu Dhabi, June 2 / The Arab Monetary Fund expected the continuation of the economic growth momentum in the United Arab Emirates during the current and next years, to achieve an average high economic growth rate of 4.6% for the period from 2022 to 2024 as a result of the increase in oil prices and the increase in business confidence.
In a recent report entitled “Prospects for the Arab Economy”, the Fund stated that the UAE economy is expected to grow by 4.2% in the current year 2023, while the consumer price index is expected to decline to 2.9% in 2023 and 2.57% in 2024.
The report expected Arab economies to grow by about 3.4% in 2023, with the stability of oil and gas prices and the decline in commodity prices, including agricultural products, and the corresponding tightening of monetary policies to curb inflation.
The report notes that the Arab countries that have adopted economic reform programmes, visions and strategies to diversify their economies and increase their relative strength, reform business environments, encourage the role of the private sector and support human capital seem more capable of facing shocks.
The report expected that the pace of economic growth in the Arab countries would improve in 2024, to record about 4%, which is due to the expectations of stability in oil and commodity prices, and tight control over inflation.
He pointed out that the main oil-exporting Arab countries will benefit from the improvement in energy price levels, as this is expected to have positive effects on the economic growth of these countries during the years 2023 and 2024, and that the group of major oil-exporting countries will witness a growth rate of 3.4% in 2023, which will improve to 4.2% in 2024.
The report indicated that the expectations for the Gulf countries in 2023 are still more optimistic, as the gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.4% in 2023, especially in light of the Gulf economies’ tendency towards more diversification, indicating that the stability of oil prices is at high levels. Relatively speaking, it will translate into increased oil revenues, and could lead to increased financial benefits, foreign exchange reserves, and a stronger public fiscal position.
The report pointed out that one of the other paths defining the growth prospects in the GCC countries is the group’s focus on nationalizing the workforce in the private sector, and raising the rate of participation of citizens as part of the workforce, especially in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The Arab Monetary Fund report expected that the group of oil-importing Arab countries would achieve a growth rate of 3.1% in 2023, rising to 4% in the next year 2024, with control of the inflation wave at the end of this year and the easing of strict monetary policies.
According to the report, the expectations of international organizations for global economic growth issued at the beginning of 2023 ranged between 1.7 and 2.9% for the year 2023, and between 2.7 and 3.1% for the year 2024.
