In a meeting held in Tunis, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Region Ferid Belhaj and Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia Fethi Zouhair Nouri talked about the economic situation in the country and the importance of reforms for its growth.
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The institutions announced a USD 4.5 billion debt relief for the North African country in a joint statement. The IMF approved another disbursement of USD 9.3 million and is considering a three-year credit arrangement worth USD 100 million.
The amount was sent to the Middle East and North Africa in the last fiscal year, which ended in June 2021. The goal is supporting these nations in the fight against COVID-19.
The World Bank projects that the country’s economy will contract further, on the back of a 20.3% contraction in 2020.
President Bolsonaro signed a provisional measure simplifying business registration and protecting minority investors, among other things.
The amount will support the development of a social safety net for poor and vulnerable households.
Global prospects report points out that the Arab country’s economy will grow by 1.8% in 2021.
The prediction went from 2% last April to 3.5%. However, performance is still under the impact of the pandemic, which has led to job losses in fields including retail and wholesale, manufacturing, tourism, transportation and construction.
Damages stemming from the Port of Beirut blast earlier this month are expected to amount to between USD 6.7 billion and USD 8.1 billion according to a Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment made available by the World Bank this Monday (31). A new prime minister has been appointed after Hassan Diab stepped down.
The country’s economy is expected to slide by 7.6% to 11% this year as a result of the novel coronavirus, but international support and access to technology can improve the scenario.
World Bank forecasts a 0.6% growth for the Middle East and North Africa this year, down from 1.4% estimated in April. Oil production cuts and geopolitical tension are some of the reasons.
Six of the region’s economies are among the top 20 improvers in the World Bank’s ease of doing business list: Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
World Bank resources will finance reforms, balance the budget, and boost growth and job creation in the country, which suffers from the high cost of energy and a large inflow of Syrian refugees.
The Bank has revised down its forecast for Brazilian GDP growth this year in 0.7 percentage point, to 1.5%.
