CITY OF MEXICO: As the Covid-19 pandemic fades, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed confidence that the economy will be able to grow at a rate of around 5 percent in the following years. The President told reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City on Wednesday that Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 5 percent in 2021, as per reports. "Fortunately, we already have evidence that Covid's new variety (Omicron) is losing strength," Lopez Obrador remarked, "since that, among other things, was what prevented us from attaining 6 percent growth." During his six-year stint in office, the forecast growth of 5 percent in 2022, 2023, and 2024, for an average annual growth rate of more than 2 percent. The President, who took office in December 2018, ruled off the possibility of a recession, contrary to certain analysts' predictions. Due to the impact of the epidemic, Mexico's GDP fell 8.2 percent in 2020, its lowest level since the 1930s. "I'm satisfied because it (the economy) is still growing and we're coming out of the crisis," he remarked. Sri Lanka records over 82K tourist arrivals in January New Zealand Border to reopen border in five stages from February end US to send 3,000 more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tensions