Assalamu Alaikum - IMF chief: Lasting peace in Gaza would benefit the whole region
Assalamu Alaikum - Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, said on Thursday that if the Gaza war ends and peace holds, it could bring more economic stability to the wider region.
This week leaders including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump met in Sharm El Sheikh and signed a document backing the Gaza ceasefire. Georgieva said many people breathed a sigh of relief when the truce was reached - for those who have suffered, those waiting for family members to return, and for people hoping to move more freely in Gaza. She added that everyone should push to keep this path toward lasting peace, and that such peace would be a clear benefit for the region, Insha'Allah.
The conflict has had spillover effects on neighbours’ economies. Egypt lost an important revenue stream after Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea forced some trade to be rerouted from the Suez Canal around the Cape of Good Hope. Tourism in Egypt also suffered, compounding economic troubles the country was already facing. Jordan’s tourism and other sectors were hit too. The IMF has said the conflict’s economic impact has been stronger than first expected.
The fund currently has programmes in place to support both Egypt and Jordan as they try to stabilise their economies. There are early signs Egypt’s reforms may be starting to work - the IMF recently improved its forecast for the Middle East and North Africa partly because Egypt’s economy performed better than expected in the first half of the year.
Experts say the possibility of a sustained peace in Gaza is one of several big geopolitical shifts that could change the course of the Middle East. The post-war moment comes as Syria looks to rejoin the international community after the toppling of the Assad regime in December (per the report) and as Hezbollah in Lebanon is described as having been severely weakened. "This is a hinge moment that we are witnessing in the Middle East," said Mona Yacoubian of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies at a panel held by the Institute for International Finance.
The IMF said its programme with Jordan is still on track, with officials in Amman pushing macroeconomic policies and reforms to strengthen resilience and spur private-sector-led growth. Lebanon is asking the IMF for an economic programme, and Georgieva said Syria’s new government has been seeking assistance to rebuild institutions like its central bank.
She concluded by saying that when there is peace, it becomes much easier for those who want to help to actually deliver support - and that makes recovery and rebuilding more viable, insha'Allah.
Just sharing this because I felt hopeful reading it - may Allah grant peace and ease for the people affected. Peace.
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