Economic recovery in the Middle East in 2021 will be modest, says World Bank

RIYADH: The World Bank has forecast that economic activity in the Middle East and North Africa will recover modestly to 2.1 percent this year, but it predicted that any recovery is dependent on the containment of the pandemic, no further escalation in geopolitical tensions and stabilization of oil prices.

By next year, the bank estimates that output will still be 8 percent below what was projected before the pandemic. In Saudi Arabia, activity is expected to get a boost from the restarting of paused public capital investment projects.