The impact of the Middle East war is substantial, global, and highly asymmetric, disproportionately affecting energy importers, in particular low-income countries, said heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank Group.
Low-income Countries (LICs) are navigating a fluid global environment marked by high uncertainty and shifting policies in major economies spanning trade, migration, digital finance, and spending priorities, including national security and foreign aid, says an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff paper.
The war in the Middle East is upending lives and livelihoods in the region and beyond. It is also dimming the outlook for many economies that had only just shown signs of a sustained recovery from previous crises, says key IMF directors in a blogpost.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned the escalating US-Israel-Iran conflict risks pushing global inflation higher, after oil prices surged more than 30 per cent in Asian trading to their highest levels since 2022.
Arab economies are expected to record a growth of 3.7 percent in the coming period, driven by increased oil production and the continued recovery of non-oil sectors, said Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The International Monetary Fund has paved the way for about $2.3 billion in fresh financing for Egypt following the completion of the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt’s economic reform programme and the first review under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a 1.3 per cent contraction in the economies of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (MENAP) in 2026, followed by a strong rebound of 6.6 per cent next year, as the regional conflict continues to weigh heavily on energy production, trade and economic activity.
The UAE’s economy is expected to grow by 4.8% in 2025 and the growth rate will rise to about 5% in 2026, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed confidence that the UAE will deliver an exceptional hosting experience for the 2029 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF in Abu Dhabi.
The global economy has weathered the latest in a series of shocks better than expected, but outcomes have diverged across countries and resilience should not be taken for granted - there is no room for complacency in a rapidly changing world marked by heightened uncertainty, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
