Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, has expressed her optimism for a quick resolution to the Israel-Hamas conflict and warned that if it spread throughout the region, it would have a “really big impact” on already weak global trade flows.
During the recent annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Morocco, Okonjo-Iweala revealed that the violence in the Middle East could worsen other issues that are already affecting trade development like increased interest rates, a tense Chinese real estate market, and Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
In an interview with Reuters, she said: “We hope this ends soon and it’s contained. Our biggest fear is if it widens because that will then have a really big impact on trade. Everybody’s on eggshells hoping for the best.”
She said global uncertainty was already impeding growth in trade, but that would be aggravated by the sudden onset of war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas group that controls the Gaza Strip.
She said: “There is uncertainty about whether this is going to spread further to the whole region, which could impact very much on global economic growth. We hope it will end because it does create this uncertainty. It’s another dark cloud on the horizon.”
The World Trade Organization recently cut in half its projection for growth in the world’s goods trade this year, citing ongoing inflation, higher interest rates, China’s weakening economy, and the conflict in Ukraine.
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