DUSHANBE, October 9, 2014, Asia-Plus — The World Bank said during the 2014 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings on October 8 that growth in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region remains tepid, with GDP growth for the region expected to be only 1.8 percent in 2014 and improving slightly up to 2.1 percent for 2015,
“The Emerging Europe and Central Asia region is facing some daunting challenges amid a cloudy outlook for growth,” said Laura Tuck, Vice-President for the World Bank’s Emerging Europe and Central Asia region. “The tensions in Ukraine have clearly had an impact on the country’s growth and have disrupted economic activity. But many of the structural problems that confront countries in the region existed before the crisis and still need to be urgently addressed.”
Deep crisis in Ukraine due to the tensions, however, with the exception of a few industries, has not materialized into stiff headwinds for ECA as a whole.
Russia and some neighboring countries are slowing as past drivers of strong growth have largely run their course. In Russia, geopolitical tensions and an uncertain policy environment are casting the longest shadow on Russia’s medium-term prospects.
