LOC21:55
18:55 GMT
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (KUNA) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday "more progress for more people" is being seen across emerging and developing countries while Middle East nations continue to be "hard-hit" by low commodity prices, conflict and terrorism.
Advanced economies are going the "opposite direction," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said, while geopolitical events like terrorism and the refugee surge pose "risks that are very hard to quantify."
The IMF will downgrade its forecast for the US, due to its economy's setback in the first half of 2016 in spite of an ongoing recovery, she said in a speech at a university in Chicago.
In the Euro area, growth remains "sub-par," while Japan will need to "implement difficult reforms to maintain momentum."
Both India and China, said Lagarde, will continue to grow at a "robust rate" of about seven percent and six percent respectively, while both Russia and Brazil also show signs of improvement after a period of severe contraction.
Overall, the IMF chief said the global economy is "weak and fragile," saying that expert analysis, structural reforms based on sustainability and a "coordinated approach" were all needed as a remedy.
Focusing on coordination as a factor, she highlighted "restricting trade and limiting economic openness is sure to worsen the growth outlook for the world and especially its weakest citizens.
"We need to rethink fundamentally how growth can be made more inclusive, and act accordingly," she said. (end)
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