by Expo Events Consulting Expo Events Consulting

To provide an economic outlook for the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region post COVID-19, on June 17 UFI Connects held a session with chief economist Dr. Florence Eid-Oakden, CEO of Arabia Monitor, in conversation with Naji El Haddad, Middle East & Africa Regional Manager at UFI.

The session was jointly organised by UFI and Arabia Monitor Research & Strategy, a London-based independent think tank focused on the economies, markets and geopolitics of the MENA region.

Topics included an analysis on the influence of the COVID-19 crisis on globalisation (or de-globalisation) and the global trade and supply chain – focus on China-MENA trade relations, lower oil prices and their impact on GCC economies, the economic outlook in the MENA region with a focus on the UAE economy, the impact of the current dual crisis on jobs in the UAE and the region in general as well as a quick overview of the impact of exhibitions postponement on economies, with a focus on Expo 2020 re-scheduling impact on the UAE economy.

Additionally, all attendees received a complimentary copy of Arabia Monitor’s “MENA COVID-19 Situation Report” which provides updates on the COVID-19 outbreak and its repercussions in the MENA region (22 countries), including the set of response measures that countries have unveiled at national, regional, and local levels to counter the spread of the virus. 

-ufi.org