Pakistan, Oct. 22 -- Economic activity in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region and Pakistan has "been stronger than expected" this year, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday.

The Washington-based multilateral presented its latest regional economic outlook on Tuesday, forecasting growth of 3.2% this year in the MENA region and 3.7% in 2026 - 0.7 and 0.3 percentage points higher, respectively, than its previous projections in May. "Economic activity in the MENA region and Pakistan has been stronger than expected," Jihad Azour, IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia. "We now project growth of 3.2% in 2025, up from 2.1% in 2024, and higher than our April forecast."

Azour highlighted that oil exporte...