"ECONOMIC CONDITIONS"

Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global economic recovery remains fragile, adding “the last two years have demonstrated a simple but brutal truth — if we leave anyone behind, we leave everyone behind.” UNIFEED

Launching the World Economic and Social Prospects 20122 (WESP 2022) the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Liu Zhenmin, said full global recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic “is still a long way off.” UNIFEED

Secretary-General António Guterres said “COVID-19 is not going away," and stressed that the world “cannot defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way.” UNIFEED

The recovery in the Middle East and Central Asia region is uneven and incomplete and must fully take hold throughout the region, announced the IMF in a press briefing held to launch the Middle East and Central Asia’s latest Regional Economic Outlook report. IMF

The IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva announced in her virtual press briefing on the Global Policy Agenda that more uncertainty in supply chain disruptions and inflation prospects, along with elevated debt levels and a persistent economic divergence are what lies ahead. IMF

The pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in debt issued by governments, nonfinancial corporations, and households, the IMF estimated in the latest Fiscal Monitor report. In 2020 global debt reached $226 trillion and increased by $27 trillion, the IMF estimated. IMF

The IMF is lowering its global growth projection for 2021 slightly to 5.9 percent while keeping it unchanged for 2022 at 4.9 percent. However, this modest headline revision masks large downgrades for some countries the Fund reports in its World Economic Outlook released Tuesday in Washington, DC. IMF

The resurgence of global economic activity in the first half of 2021 lifted merchandise trade above its pre-pandemic peak, leading World Trade Organization (WTO) economists to upgrade their forecasts for trade in 2021 and 2022. WTO

Secretary-General António Guterres said, “uneven, unfair recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic “is eroding trust between the developed and developing world,” and stressed that many developing countries “urgently need a helping hand.” UNIFEED

King Abdullah II of Jordan told the General Assembly General Debate that “the bitter war on Gaza" in 2020, was a reminder that the current Middle East situation "is simply unsustainable." UNIFEED