Environment

Rapid macroeconomic growth has worked to strengthen trade and investment in the Philippines. Build, Build, Build – the government’s infrastructure development agenda – is supporting soaring imports, while the fast-growing manufacturing export base remains an economic mainstay.

One of East Africa’s largest economies and most popular tourist destinations, Tanzania is reputed for its stability in the region. Its extractive wealth, favourable climate for agriculture, and natural assets such as Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti National Park have helped it build a relatively high rate of growth over the last decade, averaging 6-7% per year.

Sharjah has long played an important economic and cultural role in the UAE, and boasts one of the most diversified economies by regional standards, with no individual sector accounting for more than 20% of GDP.

As the government continues its expansive reform agenda with Vision 2025, Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to record moderate improvements in 2018.

Tunisia is working to gradually improve its economic indicators by means of tough yet necessary structural reforms. Although significant strides have been made since 2011, the country continues to face acute macroeconomic imbalances, while coincident reforms have suffered from changing administrations in the years following the revolution, negatively affecting economic growth.

As ongoing volatility continues to hamper growth in the region, Jordan has made significant progress in preserving macroeconomic stability and reducing its fiscal deficit in the past few years. Efforts to the fulfill the stipulations of a $723m extended fund facility agreement with the IMF continue, and the government may need to pursue more widespread reforms to increase income tax revenues and limit tax avoidance so as to sustain recent momentum.