Gulf to help ensure global cooperation over ‘difficult’ next 6 months: Al-Jadaan

The next six months are going to be “very difficult” for the world, said Saudi Arabia’s finance minister.

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It is the Gulf region’s responsibility to make sure there is more collaboration between countries, Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Jadaan said during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.

“It’s very difficult to predict what’s going to come out. But I can tell you that worldwide, I think it’s going to be a very difficult six months,” he said.

The Gulf region will fare more positively over the next six months, while the wider world will face greater difficulties, al-Jadaan said.

War in Ukraine and instability of the energy markets were highlighted as potential risk factors in the coming year.

During the same panel discussion, Bahrain’s finance minister Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa highlighted strong non-oil growth in Gulf countries, adding that there is potential for the young population to boost the workforce.

“We are very lucky in our part of the world that we have young populations… our greatest resource is our people,” he said.

Another “big opportunity” for Gulf countries, Al Khalifa added, is the chance to develop manufacturing and boost exports.

The Bahraini minister also pointed out that the main driver of GDP growth in real terms in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in the past year has been non-oil growth.

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