CAIRO: The Arab Planning Institute (API) in Kuwait and Egypt's Institute of National Planning (INP) on Saturday issued the sixth edition of the Arab development report titled: "Arab economic growth in light of crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond". The edition came during the opening of the 16th scientific conference of the Arab society for economic researches on boosting capabilities of Arab economies to face crises, said a statement issued by the API.

The conference was held in Egypt's Alamein City, under the patronage of Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli. The statement said that the report is one of the most important reports issued by the API, in cooperation with the INP, and is a model for cooperation and joint Arab action. The report studies some varied key and contemporary economic and social issues that are essential to the Arab countries, and analyzes difficulties and challenges facing these countries, it noted.

In addition, the report suggests the best ways and policies aiming to improve the economic and social development of the countries of the Arab region. It touched upon the crises, mainly the COVID-19, and their impact on the countries and their economic growth. The 6th edition also presented some experiences of Arab countries in managing the crisis and proposed some recommendations regarding the economic growth problem in the post pandemic period.

Meanwhile, API Director General Dr Bader Malallah underlined the importance of this publication, which focuses on the crises, mainly the COVID-19 pandemic. He said this pandemic is one of the most outstanding issues that caught the global public opinion as it has major repercussions on Arab and global economic and social development. In his inaugural speech, Malallah pointed to the negative impacts made by the pandemic on economic growth in different countries across the globe, including the Arab countries.

It got worse after the Russian-Ukrainian crisis as energy and agricultural commodities' prices soared and led to high inflation, he stressed. Furthermore, head of INP Ashraf Al-Arabi said the report is fundamental as it deals with the Arab economic growth problem after the COVID-19 pandemic which concerns the Arab countries and societies.

The pandemic and its consequences led to new challenges to the Arab countries that require searching for the best ways to recover effectively and overcome these repercussions. Al-Arabi pointed out that the sixth edition provides a reading of the pandemic and its impacts on economic growth in the Arab countries. The report touched upon the reality and path of economic development before the pandemic to analyze the economic and social consequences of this crisis, mainly on the economic growth. - KUNA