An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report said Kuwait's economic growth was expected to reach 6.2 percent in 2006, Kuwait News Agency reported on Saturday.

The report, issued recently at the annual IMF meeting in Singapore, said that the economic growth of the emirate was forecast to stand at 4.7 percent in 2007.

It noted that Kuwait's economic growth rate was at 8.5 percent in 2005 and 6.2 percent in 2004.

The IMF's report forecasted that the average economic growth for the Middle East in 2006 and 2007 is expected to stand at 5.8 and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The drop forecast of the Mideast growth coincided with the general forecasts of a fall in global economic growth, added the report.

Source: Xinhua