The World Bank expects that the Jordanian economy will grow by 1.8 percent during the year 2021, to rise next year to 2 percent. The bank also expected, in a report on global economic prospects, that economic activity in the Middle East and North Africa region will grow by 2.1 percent this year, reflecting the lasting damage caused by the Corona pandemic and the drop in oil prices.
According to the World Bank, economic recovery depends on the extent to which the pandemic is contained, the stability of oil prices, the non-escalation of geopolitical tensions in the region, and the assumption that a vaccine for Coronavirus will be distributed in the second half of the year.
As for oil-exporting countries, growth is expected to recover to 1.8 this year, supported by the return of oil demand to normal, the planned mitigation of oil production cuts in OPEC countries, policy support and the gradual easing of domestic restrictions related to the pandemic. In its report, the bank revealed that a drop in oil prices, severe price fluctuations, or an extension of OPEC production cuts may impede growth in the emerging economies of oil-exporting markets and developing countries in the region.
The oil-importing countries may also be affected by the decline in oil prices, by a decrease in remittances from expatriates working in the oil-exporting countries in the region, and a decrease in foreign direct investment flows from those countries.
The bank expected that the global economy would grow by 4 percent in 2021, assuming that the initial distribution of Corona virus vaccines would become widespread during the current year. Indicating that the recovery will likely be weak, unless policy makers act decisively to curb the pandemic and implement reforms to boost investment.
Source (London-based Arab Newspaper, Edited)
