Finance
Minister Mohamed Ma’eet said on Tuesday Oct 27, that the Egyptian government
gives priority to implementing integrated structural reforms to attract more
investments to the country.
The private sector should play a bigger role to contribute to the development
process in the coming stage, Ma’eet said in two meetings with representatives
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 40 US investors at the American
Chamber of Commerce via video conference.
He made it clear that the private sector would sure help create new jobs, maximize
production potentials and expand exports.
The result is an enhanced economic infrastructure and better economic
performance indicators, the minister noted.
He touched upon growing keenness by the government to create an
investment-friendly climate, especially with promising sectors, such as
renewable energy, petroleum, petrochemicals and transport.
Backed by the political leadership in Egypt, the comprehensive economic reform
program - which was implemented over the past years – has sure helped contain
coronavirus repercussions, Ma’eet said.
Those reforms have allowed for further flexibility that helped in countering
and overcoming challenges at home and abroad, he added.
Ma’eet cited a recent report by the World Bank, which considered Egypt as the
“bright spot” in Africa with inflows of foreign direct investments rising by 11
percent in 2019-2020 on the year before despite the negative impact of the
pandemic.
Moreover, the IMF expects a quick recovery of the Egyptian economy in the
medium term, with growth rates likely to exceed 5 percent and total deficit
likely to decline to 5.1 percent during the fiscal year 2022-2023, the minister
said.
The IMF forecasts for the Egyptian economy also indicate an initial surplus in
state budget that is estimated to reach 0.5 percent of the gross domestic
product during the current fiscal year and then increase to 2 percent in
2022-2023, Ma’eet added.
Source: State Information Service
