DUBAI – Egypt is taking important steps to avoid financial risks, said Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva.
Speaking before the Seventh Arab Fiscal Forum, currently in session in Dubai, Georgieva added that the fight against inflation remains a priority for world countries in 2023, expecting it to decline from 8.8 percent in 2022 to 6.6 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2024.
As the global economy slows, growth is also expected to drop in the Middle East and North Africa—from 5.4 percent in 2022 to 3.2 percent this year before ticking up to 3.5 percent in 2024, she added.
Public debt is a particular concern, with several economies in the region facing elevated debt-to-GDP ratios—some close to 90 percent, she further said, according to the IMF’s website.
Governments in the region have identified multi-year financing needs of over dlrs 750 billion for these actions, noted.
The average tax-to-GDP ratio, excluding hydrocarbon-related revenue, remains at about 11 percent— less than half of what could potentially be collected, she went on to say.
