Assessing the global economic outlook for 2023 and 2024, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stated that growth is still weak but that there could be a positive “turning point.”
On Sunday in Dubai, on the eve of the 10th World Government Summit (WGS), Georgieva said that we are finally seeing growth and inflation falling after a long period in which everything was the exact opposite, growth was weakening, and inflation was rising, reports Gulf News.
The head of the IMF pointed out that after last year’s increase in global GDP of 3.4 percent, there was a slowdown in growth to 2.9 percent in 2023 and a slight recovery to 3.1 percent in the following year. According to her, the fight against inflation remains a priority for 2023, and the world will not return to the necessary and sought growth in 2024 either.
Georgieva added that what shaped this less pessimistic outlook were three factors. One is the extraordinary stability of the US and European labor markets, resulting in strong consumer demand. Second, China reopened on December 8 last year, drastically improving the recovery projections. Third, adapting Europe while reducing dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Decreasing inflation
It is positive, as Georgieva stated, that inflation has decreased from 8.8 percent in 2022 to 6.6 percent this year and the expected 4.3 percent in the next year, although, for most countries, it will still be above the level before the pandemic. The head of the IMF and other banking and financial leaders participated in the annual fiscal forum as part of the summit in Dubai.
The three-day WGS was officially opened on Monday, and participation in the meeting was confirmed by 20 heads of state, more than 250 ministers, and 80 heads of international organizations, as well as a large number of experts, owners, and directors of companies from around the world. Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced their participation.
