Mideast in ‘shadow of uncertainty’ due to regional conflicts: IMF [Video]

Economies in the Middle East and North Africa face a “shadow of uncertainty” from ongoing tensions in the region, a senior IMF official told AFP on Thursday.

“We are in a context where the overall outlook is cast into shadows,” the International Monetary Fund’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia department, Jihad Azour, said in an interview in Washington.

“The shadow of uncertainty on the geopolitical side is an important one,” added Azour, a recent candidate to be the next Lebanese president.

In the face of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, and a recent cut to oil supplies by Gulf countries, the IMF has pared back its growth outlook for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region once again.

The Fund now expects growth in …