Media Unity Council Hosts Abu-Ghazaleh to Discuss the 2020 Global Economic Crisis

AMMAN - The United Arab Media Council (UAMC) hosted HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh in a panel discussion entitled “The Global Economic Crisis 2020: A Crisis or Opportunity?” with the participation of a wide spectrum of economists, academics and journalists in addition to representatives of the private sector and international and development institutions.

At the beginning of the session, Mr. Haitham Ali Yousef, UAMC Secretary General, welcomed the guests and participants, pointing out that the session is a part of the future activities of the Arab Council for Media announced last year and officially acknowledged by the League of The Arab States.

Mr. Yousef stated that the open discussion with Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh is a great and an important opportunity for economists and media specialists in the economic field for getting in-depth knowledge and information from one leading global prominent economic experts. 

“We, at the Council, support and endorse the content of Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh’s open letter to the Prime Minister on the necessity for limiting public holidays to enhance productivity. Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh expressed concern about national economy especially while we are approaching a global economic crisis which requires additional hard work to eliminate its negative impact,” Yousef noted.

Furthermore, Dr. Salim Sharif, UAMC Chairman, affirmed the importance of the information highlighted at the session which he considered a ‘positive’ alarm bell for the government to take the required precautionary measures.

“Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, the well-known self-made economist, has based his expectations on his decade-long economic expertise and his study and observations of international and regional economic and political conditions. We at the Council, support Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh and any other sincere Arab leader who is always concerned about the Arab world politically and economically,” Sharif added.

In an article written by Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh and published last month by media outlets at a wide scale, he calls on everyone to be prepared to a major economic crisis that may hit globally by the year 2020. 

 “I have been sounding the alarm of a major economic crisis that may hit globally by the year 2020. Contrary to some expert analyses, I have good reason to believe that the new crisis is going to be much more devastating than the 2008 one, which was described by Ben Bernanke, the chair of the Federal Reserve (Fed) at the time, as “the worst financial crisis in global history”. Most likely, and like the previous one, this crisis will start in the United States,” Abu-Ghazaleh said.

The new economic crisis, according to Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh, is expected to continue for years and will have a major impact on the West, causing stagflation and leading to bankruptcies. However, emerging countries such as China and India are expected to flourish. The world has managed to contain the 2008 financial crisis, but what is much more serious is the economic crisis that is coming.

“With the heating in the economy coupled with the US expected oil shortages in early 2020, the price of oil could shoot up to $150 per barrel, thus causing stagflation in the world’s leading economy,” Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh stated.

“I believe that this year will witness a chaos in global trade market where every country will impose provisions that contradict what it has previously signed similar to what the United States is doing. We currently have a president who wants to change the global system that will cause significant differences, problems and damage for all parties.”

At the end of the session, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh answered the participants’ inquiries and questions which underlined the importance of such meetings in providing decision makers with scientific-based economic analysis.

It is worth mentioning that the United Arab Media Council was established in Bahrain in 2012, with the aim to create and enhance interactive cooperation between Arab professional media people and journalists in various media institutions and outlets in the Arab world. 

The Council aims at encouraging cooperation between the Arab media institutions in the public and private sectors, sharing and exchanging experiences, as well as emphasizing the importance of the joint Arab media work.