The heads of the world’s three key economic and energy institutions said in a joint statement that the ongoing war in West Asia has led to “one of the largest supply shortages in the history of the global energy market” and is already having devastating effects on the economies of vulnerable countries, especially low-income energy importers.

For this reason, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) announced the formation of a coordination group to manage the consequences of this crisis.

In part, the statement states that “the war in the Middle East has caused major disruptions to people’s lives and livelihoods in the region, and its impact is significant, global and highly asymmetric.” Therefore, the group is tasked with assessing the severity of the impacts in different countries, estimating financial needs and, in cooperation with regional and international partners, providing targeted support to countries at risk.

Economic experts consider the formation of this coordination group to reflect the unprecedented severity of the current crisis and concerns about its spread to other sectors of the global economy.