Five months after the global Covid-19 pandemic first began to make its impact felt in the Middle East, regional governments are easing the measures taken to curb the spread of the disease. Measures that have damaged the region's economy.

Covid-19 has exposed the vulnerability of the region to outside forces, specifically oil prices and international travel. And the fiscal weakening of the GCC’s economic powerhouses due to lower oil and tourism revenues has shattered the outlook for business, and derailed diversification visions.

But while every country is suffering, the pain from Covid-19 and the prospects for recovery are not equally distributed across the region.

In the July 2020 issue of MEED Business Review, our journalists assess the challenges for post-Covid-19 recovery in 14 countries across the region (see links below). Attached to each profile is the country’s score according to the MEED Covid-19 Recovery Index, which assesses 10 factors to provide a weighted index of a country’s economic recovery potential.

Our latest industry report focuses on Covid-19's devastating impact on tourism, a sector that is vitally important for the region's recovery. The good news is domestic travel is resuming; international tourism and business travel, however, will take much longer to rebound.

This month's exclusive 18-page Market Focus, meanwhile, offers a comprehensive look at Kuwait, where the government's commitment to prioritising its citizens will require a fundamental shift in employment trends.

Other must-read sections in the July 2020 edition of MEED Business Review include:

LIBYA: Power shift leaves Khalifa Haftar exposed

LEADERSHIP: Preparing your business for the return to work

LEGAL: Regulating the final frontier

MEED INSIGHT: Renewable energy ambitions face new challenges

We hope you find the July issue of MEED Business Review informative.

Post-Covid-19 country profiles

> Algeria: Unemployment rate rises as the country’s economic output tumbles due to Covid-19

> Bahrain: A $11bn stimulus package is among Manama’s measures to support the kingdom’s private sector

> Egypt: Financial support, project investment and tourism are key factors for Egypt’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic

> Iran: With substantial challenges ahead, Iran can ill afford to mishandle its economic recovery

> Iraq: Covid-19 and low oil prices have compounded an already fragile political and economic situation

> Jordan: Lower exports, remittances, travel and foreign investments to undermine low oil price benefits

> Kuwait: Deteriorating fiscal balance overshadows health and safety concerns amid the pandemic

> Lebanon: Socioeconomic discontent risks future growth despite the formation of a new government

> Morocco: Declines in outbound trade, inbound travel and remittance receipts cause economic contraction

> Oman: Finance Ministry has taken measures to reduce state expenses by 15 per cent

> Qatar: Four-phase plan implemented to ease restrictions

> Saudi Arabia: Plunging oil prices triggered a SR34.1bn deficit in the kingdom’s first-quarter budget

> Tunisia: The pandemic has doubled Tunisia’s need for external funding to TD5bn in 2020

> UAE: Abu Dhabi’s recovery depends on oil prices, while Dubai needs a rebound in aviation and tourism