Kuwait to lead Gulf in growth
IMF outlines expectations
KUWAIT CITY, April 20, (Agencies): The International Monetary Fund expects Kuwait’s real GDP to grow from 1.3 percent in 2021 to 8.2 percent in 2022, and 2.6 percent in 2023, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to the data, Kuwait will achieve the best growth among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as the Fund expects the real GDP in the UAE to grow by 4.2 percent in 2022, and by 3.8 percent in 2023. The IMF also expects Qatar’s real GDP to grow by 3.4 percent this year, and 2.5 percent
KUWAIT CITY: The State of Kuwait welcomed on Wednesday the oath swearing of the head and members of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, deeming it as a historical step in the history of Yemen.
A statement by the Foreign Minister congratulated President of the Council Rashad Al-Alimi and members on their oath swearing, which occurred yesterday in front of parliament in Aden.
The State of Kuwait will be supporting the Yemeni brethren and the council on its efforts to end the conflict in Yemen and bringing peace and prosperity to the country, added the statement.
The statement wished the council all the success in attending to its national duty to safeguard and maintain the stability in Yemen, ushering a new age of development and aspiration. (KUNA)
JERUSALEM: Police appear to have prevented hundreds of ultra-nationalist Israelis from marching around predominantly Palestinian areas of Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, an event that served as one of the triggers of last year’s IsraelGaza war.
Police set up large roadblocks outside the Old City walls, closing the main road leading down to Damascus Gate, the epicenter of last year’s unrest. Bottled up, the marchers waved Israeli flags, chanted and sang.
Earlier in the day, a small group of Palestinian protesters threw rocks at police while hundreds of Jewish visitors entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount.
The hilltop shrine in Jerusalem’s Old City is the third holiest in Islam, while for Jews it is their holiest site, where two temples stood in antiquity. It is the emotional ground zero for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a flashpoint for previous rounds of violence. (AP)
RAMALLAH: Israeli occupation forces forcibly entered Al-Aqsa Mosque Wednesday and besieged worshippers to ensure the entrance of settlers.
Those in the mosque stated that occupation forces shot rubber bullets at them, wounding three.
They added that a fire erupted in one of the mosque’s windows as the Israeli forces threw bombs at the youngsters inside.
Around 1,180 settlers breached the mosque as a group known as Temple Movement called for increasing breakings into Al-Aqsa, on the pretext of the occupation government will close down the mosque starting Friday and lasted until the end of Ramadan.
Extremist settlers are set on organizing “Flags March” tonight in the old city of Aqsa. (KUNA)
BEIRUT: United Nations UNICEF warned on Wednesday the ripple effects of the global economic situation - with heightened prices and increased inflation - are exacerbating Lebanon’s calamitous crisis, with grave consequences for children’s health.
This came in UNICEF’s report released to coincide with World Immunization Week (WIW), in which it said that this will cause more disruptions in the health sector, already beset by a major exodus of medical professionals, a hiring freeze by health facilities and limitations on imports of medications and equipment that have seriously affected the quality of healthcare for women and children. (KUNA) next year.
The IMF indicated the real GDP in Saudi Arabia will grow by 7.6 percent in 2022 and by 3.6 percent in 2023 and expects Oman to achieve a growth of 5.6 percent this year and 2.7 percent in 2023, and Bahrain 3.3 percent in 2022 and 3.0 percent next year.
The fund also announced that it raised the economic growth forecast in the Middle East and North Africa region by 0.6 percent to reach 5.8 percent in 2022.
The International Monetary Fund expects Kuwait’s current account balance to rise to 31.3 percent of GDP in 2022 and 27.2 percent in 2023, compared to 16.1 percent in 2021. It pointed out that the unemployment rate reached 1.3 percent in 2021.
The Fund’s expectations of consumer prices in the Gulf countries and Egypt were as follows:
Saudi Arabia by 2.5% in 2022 and by 2.0% in 2023; UAE 3.7% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023; Qatar by 3.5% in 2022 and by 3.2% in 2023; Kuwait by 4.8% in 2022 and by 2.3% in 2023 and Egypt 7.5% in 2022 and 11.0% in 2023.
Reiterated
The Cabinet of Saudi Arabia reiterated on Tuesday the right of both the Kingdom and Kuwait to exploit the natural resources and continue developing the AlDurra oilfield, located in the divided submerged area.
The right to share the natural resources of the divided area in enshrined in the minutes of the meeting held by both countries on March 21, 2022, the Cabinet noted in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, reviewed the latest developments in the region and the world, with emphasis on the storming by Israeli police of Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Cabinet calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibility for holding the occupation forces fully responsible for these crimes and violations, citing their negative consequences on the chances of reviving the peace process in the Middle East.
In a statement to the SPA following the session, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said the Cabinet discussed the situation in Ukraine.
The Cabinet stresses the Kingdom’s support for efforts that could lead to a political solution to the crisis and achieve security and stability, stating that the Kingdom will continue to stand by the affected and needy people around the world to alleviate their suffering, the minister noted.
The Cabinet approved provision of urgent medical and shelter assistance worth USD 10 million to refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries in coordination with the United Nations, he disclosed.