The Institute of International Finance said that the rise in oil prices is widening the economic gaps between exporters and importers of oil in the Middle East and North Africa.

The institute said in a report that the region is expected to grow by 2.3 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2022, after a combined contraction in gross domestic product of 3.8 percent last year.

"The economic recovery continues to gain momentum, but divergence in the macroeconomic outlook has emerged in the region... The differences in economic performance between oil-exporting and oil-importing countries have widened," he added.

The institute stated that the oil-producing countries are expected to witness surpluses in the current account balance of 165 billion dollars this year, and 138 billion next year, after a deficit of 6 billion last year, based on an oil price forecast of 71 dollars per barrel this year and 66 dollars per barrel. Next year.

In oil-importing countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan, the combined current account deficit will increase to $35 billion this year.

The general foreign assets of the Gulf states - including foreign reserves and sovereign wealth funds - are expected to rise to more than $3 trillion by the end of 2022, equivalent to 170 percent of GDP.

On the contrary, in oil-importing countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan, the combined deficit in the current account balance will increase to $35 billion this year from $27 billion in 2020, mainly due to the high cost of importing oil and the decline in tourism sector revenues.

Public foreign assets in oil-importing countries will represent 15.5 percent of combined gross domestic product this year, according to the institute.

The tourism sector, which is responsible for a large proportion of GDP in these countries, is not expected to return to its pre-coronavirus levels before 2023.

The institute said, "The rise in growth in these countries in 2022 will be driven by investments and exports, but this will not be enough to reduce the high unemployment rates, which average 14% and among young people 28%, which is the highest unemployment rate in the world."

 loans and costs

And last Sunday, the International Monetary Fund said that it provided new financing (loans) worth 16.6 billion dollars to the economies of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa to overcome the Corona virus crisis.

The World Bank said in a recent report that the estimated cumulative cost of the Corona pandemic on the economies of the Middle East and North Africa will reach $200 billion by the end of 2021.

The fund added in a report that it also provided technical assistance to help member countries in the Middle East to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

The lending programs made available by the Fund helped support Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.

As for the World Bank, it said in a recent report that the estimated cumulative cost of the Corona pandemic on the economies of the Middle East and North Africa will reach $200 billion by the end of 2021.