Summary of the first report The Economic Committee of the Arab Iron and Steel Union

The Middle East and North Africa region is expected to witness modest growth rates, averaging between 1.5% and 3.5% during the period from 2019 to 2021, compared to 1.6% in 2018.
Over the past years, the countries of the region have witnessed large inflation rates as a result of economic reforms, reducing government subsidies on energy prices, and implementing value-added tax (in Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia), and Oman is scheduled to start implementing the tax at the end of this year, and Kuwait during 2021.
The economic growth rates of the oil-exporting countries are expected to reach 2.1%, while the expected economic growth rates for the oil-importing countries will reach about 4% during the same period, affected by the strong growth in the Egyptian economy.