The International Monetary Fund, after concluding its Article IV consultation mission, expected the Bahraini economy to grow by 3.4 percent this year, accelerating from 2.2 percent recorded at the end of last year.
The head of the mission, Asma Al-Janaini, pointed out that "non-oil GDP growth is expected to increase by 4 percent, driven by stronger industrialization and the full reopening of the economy," stressing that "Bahrain's economic growth will stabilize at about 3 percent in the medium term."
She warned that "significant uncertainty is casting a shadow over the outlook, including the uncertain development of the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, as well as global inflation expectations."
Al-Janaini explained that the growth of Bahrain's economy last year was driven by the growth of the non-oil sector by 2.8 percent, despite the contraction of the oil sector by 0.3 percent.
Bahrain is a small oil producer, and its economy suffered greatly as a result of the collapse in crude prices in 2020 under the pressure of the Corona pandemic, which prompted Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE to extend a $10 billion aid package approved by the three countries in 2018.
Source (Al-Arab Newspaper of London, Edited)
