Watch: IMF on the economy and Covid-19

Top experts discuss the Middle East and North Africa region's chances of overcoming the risk that the effects of the pandemic stall a recovery next year

Gita Gopinath, the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund, speaks with AFP outside of their headquarters in Washington, DC on October 13, 2020. A US stimulus package in the order of the $2Show more

The International Monetary Fund forecasts that the world economic output will contract by 4.4 per cent this year. However this is a better projection that the one it gave in June due to a partial and better-than-expected rebound in advanced economies from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Middle East and North Africa region remains at risk from the pandemic and a recovery next year is far from assured, according to the Fund.

It is hosting a live discussion titled ‘Coping with COVID-19: Challenges and Policy Priorities for the MENA Region and the Global Economy’.

Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief economist, Jihad Azour, its Middle East and Central Asia director, Reza Moghadam, vice chairman of global capital markets at Morgan Stanley and Nasser Saidi, former Lebanon economy minister, will debate the outlook for the region and beyond. CNBC’s Hadley Gamble moderates.

______________

Read more here:

Pandemic worsens challenges of fragile states in Middle East and Central Asia, IMF says

IMF revises economic outlook on partial recovery and calls for multilateral co-operation

IMF forecasts 'partial and uneven recovery' as it warns of record debt levels