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Saudi Crown Prince, Indian PM Attend Saudi-Indian Strategic Partnership Council

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi meet on Monday. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi meet on Monday. (SPA)
TT
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Saudi Crown Prince, Indian PM Attend Saudi-Indian Strategic Partnership Council

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi meet on Monday. (SPA)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi meet on Monday. (SPA)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, met on Monday with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi to discuss ties and cooperation in various fields, and to review regional and international topics of common interest.

At the Saudi-Indian Strategic Partnership Council that he later attended, Crown Prince Mohammed thanked the president for the warm welcome, highlighting the long-standing relationships India has with the Arab world, particularly with Saudi Arabia, and the cooperation that helps the two sides build a brighter future.

"There has been no dispute throughout this relationship's history, but certainly, there is cooperation to build the future for our countries and create opportunities," he said, hoping that the items and promising targets on the agenda of the Council will be brought to fruition through collaboration in all sectors.

The Crown Prince praised the Indian government for "managing the G20 file", and the initiatives adopted by the G20, "including the establishment of the economic corridor connecting India, the Middle East and Europe", many of which "have become a reality through our hard work and dedication".

He also commended the Indian community, which constitutes 7% of the population of Saudi Arabia, for its significant contribution to the economic growth of the Kingdom, saying that "we consider them a part of us. Through this council, we hope to meet the aspirations of our peoples."

For his part, Modi said he is looking forward to strengthening the partnership with Saudi Arabia in various fields.

Taking part in the Strategic Partnership Council's meeting were Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of State, member of Cabinet, and National Security Adviser Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, and Minister of Commerce Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi.

The meeting also included Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Eng. Abdullah Al-Swaha, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Advisor at the Royal Court Muhammad bin Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri, the Crown Prince's Secretary Dr. Bandar bin Obaid Al-Rasheed, and Saudi Ambassador to India Saleh bin Eid Al-Hussaini.

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IMF Chief Sees Steady World Growth in 2025, Continuing Disinflation

People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
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IMF Chief Sees Steady World Growth in 2025, Continuing Disinflation

People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)
People visit the lantern festival at the Beijing's Wenyuhe Park in Beijing on January 4, 2025, to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. (AFP)

The International Monetary Fund will forecast steady global growth and continuing disinflation when it releases an updated World Economic Outlook on Jan. 17, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters on Friday.

Georgieva said the US economy was doing "quite a bit better" than expected, although there was high uncertainty around the trade policies of the administration of President-elect Donald Trump that was adding to headwinds facing the global economy and driving long-term interest rates higher.

With inflation moving closer to the US Federal Reserve's target, and data showing a stable labor market, the Fed could afford to wait for more data before undertaking further interest rate cuts, she said. Overall, interest rates were expected to stay "somewhat higher for quite some time," she said.

The IMF will release an update to its global outlook on Jan. 17, just days before Trump takes office. Georgieva's comments are the first indication this year of the IMF's evolving global outlook, but she gave no detailed projections.

In October, the IMF raised its 2024 economic growth forecasts for the US, Brazil and Britain but cut them for China, Japan and the euro zone, citing risks from potential new trade wars, armed conflicts and tight monetary policy.

At the time, it left its forecast for 2024 global growth unchanged at the 3.2% projected in July, and lowered its global forecast for 3.2% growth in 2025 by one-tenth of a percentage point, warning that global medium-term growth would fade to 3.1% in five years, well below its pre-pandemic trend.

"Not surprisingly, given the size and role of the US economy, there is keen interest globally in the policy directions of the incoming administration, in particular on tariffs, taxes, deregulation and government efficiency," Georgieva said.

"This uncertainty is particularly high around the path for trade policy going forward, adding to the headwinds facing the global economy, especially for countries and regions that are more integrated in global supply chains, medium-sized economies, (and) Asia as a region."

Georgieva said it was "very unusual" that this uncertainty was expressed in higher long-term interest rates even though short-term interest rates had gone down, a trend not seen in recent history.

The IMF saw divergent trends in different regions, with growth expected to stall somewhat in the European Union and to weaken "a little" in India, while Brazil was facing somewhat higher inflation, Georgieva said.

In China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States, the IMF was seeing deflationary pressure and ongoing challenges with domestic demand, she said.

Lower-income countries, despite reform efforts, were in a position where any new shocks would hit them "quite negatively," she said.

Georgieva said it was notable that higher interest rates needed to combat inflation had not pushed the global economy into recession, but headline inflation developments were divergent, which meant central bankers needed to carefully monitor local data.

The strong US dollar could potentially result in higher funding costs for emerging market economies and especially low-income countries, she said.

Most countries needed to cut fiscal spending after high outlays during the COVID pandemic and adopt reforms to boost growth in a durable way, she said, adding that in most cases this could be done while protecting their growth prospects.

"Countries cannot borrow their way out. They can only grow out of this problem," she said, noting that the medium-growth prospects for the world were the lowest seen in decades.