$ 1.2 trillion in losses for Arab economies due to coronavirus

The Corona pandemic has caused severe economic effects on the Arab economy, with total losses so far reaching around $ 1.2 trillion, while an estimated 7.1 million workers are losing their jobs, according to a report released by the League of Arab States, which called for the creation of a crisis fund capable of pushing to ease the burden of the disturbing circumstance.

This is what emerges from the first report distributed by the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States on the economic affairs sector of the League on the implications of the Corona virus on the economies of Arab countries, as it highlights the repercussions to short and long term, and the impact of these repercussions on the health, agriculture, food and development sectors.

The report on the long-term economic effects of the coronavirus on Arab countries said the current crisis is negatively impacting economic growth in Arab countries, revealing estimates that include ESCWA data on the economic losses of the country. crisis and its costs, totaling $ 1.2 trillion so far. In addition, 7.1 million workers are expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year.

In detail, the report indicated that the losses were as follows: losses of 420 billion dollars in stock market capital, losses of 63 billion dollars in income (gross domestic product) of member states, additional debts amounting to 220 billion of dollars, and a loss of 550 million dollars a day. Oil revenues, a $ 28 billion drop in exports, a loss of over $ 2 billion in tariff revenue, and a loss of around 7.1 million jobs in 2020.

The report states that, according to a preliminary assessment by the International Labor Organization, the “Covid-19” outbreak will have a significant impact on labor markets around the world with high unemployment, indicating that financial markets have been negatively and significantly affected by the outbreak of the virus, with the growing global connection with each other. Some have been since the turn of the millennium.

The report expects the fallout from the virus to have severe and far-reaching effects on the global and Arab economy, especially in countries with high unemployment and malnutrition rates, which will see an unprecedented increase in conditions. of the population, and pressure will increase on the private sectors which are forced to close. His work and layoffs and workers.

He stressed that the health care and food security sectors are among the sectors that will be strongly affected by the crisis, and that the sectors most affected by this epidemic are the petroleum, tourism and air transport sectors, and that it is important to pay attention to the sectors of the medical supplies and communication and information technology industry as a result of “Corona”. .

The report dealt with the short-term repercussions in Arab countries and stated: “Although the situation in Arab countries is much better so far than it is in the United States of America, in European Union countries and China, most Arab countries have resorted to precautionary measures in an attempt to prevent the spread of the epidemic. In order to avoid reaching the bad conditions suffered by countries, which have recorded cases of infection that exceed the capacity of the health system to monitor them.

The report added that this translates into huge losses in the aviation and tourism sector, the loss of around one million jobs and hundreds of thousands of seasonal jobs in the Arab world, in addition the sharp drop in oil prices to their lowest levels, which has led to high levels of unemployment and affected the incomes and purchasing power of individuals. It predicts the onset of recession and market stagnation, associated with high levels of inflation.

The report presented a number of proposals, including the establishment of an Arab Crisis Fund similar to the Support Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises, examining the requirements for providing financial support to Member States, setting temporary conditions more flexible and deferring payments owed by Arab countries during this period without affecting this. To grant them additional facilities, or incur costs for this postponement.

Among the proposals are also the formation of task forces for the crisis from the relevant joint Arab action institutions and Arab financial institutions, whose task is to monitor the impact of the crisis on Arab countries, in order to prepare sector studies on the impact of the crisis, then suggest the necessary policies.