MUSCAT: A new report issued by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has projected that the real GDP of the Sultanate of Oman will grow by 4.5 percent this year, compared to 2.2 percent last year, meaning that it will reach its highest growth level since 2017.

The report also expected the growth of the Sultanate’s real output 2023 by 3.5 percent. The report also pointed out that the inflation rate in the Sultanate is expected to reach 2.4 percent this year, and next year it will rise to 2.8 percent.

Also, the Sultanate has made great efforts to recover from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, by vaccinating the largest number of the population, financial control measures, the project in implementing value-added tax, and others.

The report stated that the rapid spread of the omicron change has halted the rapid recovery of the global economy, and put an end to the strong growth indicators, the report entitled.

The report, entitled ‘The World Economic Situation and Prospects for 2022 (WESP)’ pointed to the problems that contribute to the global economic slowdown, including new waves of Covid-19 infection, continuing labor market and supply chain challenges, and increasing inflationary pressures.

The economic slowdown is expected to continue next year, after an encouraging 5.5 percent expansion in 2021, driven by strong consumer spending and some investment takeovers, with trade in goods exceeding pre-pandemic levels, as output is expected to grow. global growth by only 4.0 percent in 2022 and 3.5 percent in 2023, the report reveals.

Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs, drew attention to the importance of a coordinated and sustainable global approach to containing COVID-19, which calls for universal access to vaccines, warning that without them, the epidemic will continue to pose the greatest threat to the comprehensive and sustainable recovery of the global economy.