Arab Spring countries will witness notable economic growth, predicted the Euromoney Foundation in an international report. The International Bank, however, has said these countries will face slow growth and renewed economic threats. The report, published by the Information and Decision Support Center, said the economies of Arab countries were more flexible during this year's uprisings if compared to the political unrest in Washington. Caroline Friend, regional manager of the International Bank, said the main challenge facing the economies of the Arab Spring countries is the slowdown of the global economy. He added that the international economic problems will affect the economies of the Mediterranean related to the European Union. The report added that the economic indications of the Arab region strongly improved, especially in petroleum exporting countries, which witnessed huge governmental spending. The report said the International Bank expected, according to these developments, that economic growth will rise by 0.5 percent to record 4.1 percent in 2011, while it will drop in 2012 to be 3.8 percent due to international economic problems. Regarding the Egyptian economy, the International Bank predicted it would achieve 3.5 percent growth in 2012, which surpasses expectations issued by other organizations that expect the continuation of political unrest in 2012.
