The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that economic growth in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region is projected to decline from 5.7 per cent in 2008 to 2.6 per cent in 2009.

Releasing the IMF's 'May 2009 Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia' on Sunday at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Masood Ahmed, Director of IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, said, "The Middle East and North Africa will be negatively affected by the current global economic crisis, but it is likely to fare better than many others. This is in part due to prudent financial and economic management, and in part to the fact that oil exporters in the region can draw upon their large reserves to cushion the impact of the global slowdown for their own economies and for the economies of their neighbouring countries with which they have growing economic links."

Ahmed said the global crisis is affecting the MENAP region in three indirect ways. "The sharp drop in oil prices is shrinking revenues for oil exporters as well as import costs for oil importers; the contraction in global demand, trade, and related activity is lowering exports, tourism, and remittances; and the tightening of international credit markets and lower investor appetite for risk, is slowing down capital inflows, depressing local asset prices, and reducing investment," he added.

The IMF presentation was mainly focused on the implications of the global economic financial crisis on the region, the measures adopted by the various countries in response to these shocks, and the IMF view on policies needed to mitigate the impact of the global slowdown.