The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned on Wednesday that several major economies face a real risk of slipping into recession.
Okonjo-Iweala warned as G20 summit leaders condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine amid rising food and fuel costs, and soaring inflation hitting the global outlook, Reuters said.
“It may not happen everywhere, but several key countries risk sliding into recession,” Okonjo-Iweala said on the sidelines of the G20 leaders meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
“Of course, the impact of that can be quite significant for emerging markets and poor countries, which need external demand from the developed countries to recover.”
According to Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, there are uncertainties with disadvantages following WTO’s projections, in October, that global trade would rise just 1.0% in 2023, down sharply from an estimated 3.5% rise for this year.
“There are so many uncertainties and most of the risks are on the downside,” such as the fallout from the war in Ukraine and headwinds from inflation, she said.
Vanguard reported that United States President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met for talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Both leaders’ meeting was portrayed to repair strained bilateral ties that are among the uncertainties weighing on the prospects for global recovery, which Okonjo-Iweala also talked about.
“One doesn’t want to read too much into it, but it’s always good when the two biggest economies in the world talk to each other,” Okonjo-Iweala said of the US-China meeting “Certainly with respect to trade, it’s very helpful.”
“The Americans are consulting actively with other members at an informal level,” she added.
