MENA region needs to bolster fiscal resilience: IMF

The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday that public debt in some Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries is of concern and that governments need to build resilience through fiscal policies to protect against shocks.

Kristalina Georgieva, addressing an Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai, said the earthquake that devastated large parts of Syria and Turkey “brought tremendous tragedy on people but also very significant impact on the Turkish economy”.

“So we have to build more resilience to these shocks,” she said.

The IMF forecast last month that economic growth in the MENA region will slow to 3.2 percent this year, before ticking up to 3.5 percent in 2024.