Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, confirmed the strong economic performance of the United Arab Emirates in recent years, as well as its success in effectively addressing global challenges. In statements to the Emirates News Agency "WAM" during the Global Government Summit in Dubai, Azour stated, "The performance of the UAE economy has been very good and has achieved the highest growth rates compared to other economies in the region, exceeding 4%." He added that the non-oil sector in the UAE has performed well and has been a key support for the strong economic performance over the past years, noting that the country's economic diversification strategy significantly contributes to enhancing the efficiency of the private sector.
Regarding the significance of the Global Government Summit, Azour said the IMF is a strategic partner of the summit, where it annually holds the "Public Finance Forum in Arab Countries" in collaboration with the Arab Monetary Fund, attended by Arab finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss the financial and economic outlook in the region. He pointed out that the current focus of this edition of the Global Government Summit is on issues such as climate finance, artificial intelligence, and international cooperation, in addition to the IMF launching a series of studies during the summit.
On his expectations for the economies of the Middle East, Azour stated: "The 2024 forecasts have been revised downward by 0.5 percentage points due to geopolitical tensions and temporary oil production cuts in 2024." The IMF expects the economies of the Middle East and Central Asia to grow by 2.9% in 2024, rising to 4.2% in 2025, while raising its expectations for global economic growth to 3.1% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025. Azour noted that economic performance in the region will vary in 2024, with estimated growth expected to be uneven, while non-oil growth is anticipated to remain strong. He pointed out positive signs in light of expectations for a decrease in global inflation rates in 2024.
