Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said that LE15 billion injected into the local economy as part of an "economic incentive" program had led to an economic growth rate of 4.7 percent, despite the unfolding global financial crisis. He went on to project a growth rate of 5 percent for next year.
Speaking to the French Chamber of Commerce in Cairo on Monday, the minister announced that the government would continue to create job opportunities in the coming three years while reducing expenditures.
Boutros-Ghali also called for increased Egyptian exports to Asia, Africa and Latin America with the aim of diversifying currency resources away from the US dollar.
"The global economy won’t achieve stability as long as the US does not devaluate the dollar," he explained. "That’s why Europe is suffering — because they export a lot to the US."
"The US currently owes the world some $9.5 trillion from the global crisis that it created as a result of the imbalance between consumption and credit," Boutros-Ghali added. "Consequently, all confidence in the global market was lost."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
