Middle East Economic Growth Robust in 2001The Middle East countries achieved an inspiring economic growth of 5.1 percent in 2000 and the growth in 2001 will remain robust, a Beirut-based UN commission said Tuesday, December 19.A statement from the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) added that the growth rate was 2.6 percent in 1999 and 1.7 percent in 1998. The ESCWA consists of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Palestine. It attributed the giant economic growth in 2000 to a long-time high oil price. The growth rate in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which groups Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, was 5.8 percent, raising the average growth in the region. With an increase of 70.8 percent from previous year, the oil revenues skyrocketed to 166 billion U.S. dollars in 2000, the highest since 1981. Egypt, Jordan and Yemen registered 3.2 percent growth rates, with Syria at 1.5 percent and Lebanon 1 percent. The average growth in 2001, except Iraq, will reach 4 percent, one of the highest since 1992, the statement said. The organization also urged members to expedite structural economic reforms and privatization, establish a united Arabic market and enhance economic cooperation. |
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