Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait announced Saturday, that the Egyptian economy’s financial performance amid the coronavirus pandemic has exceeded all expectations, with Egypt’s experience in economic reform continuing to be praised by international institutions.
Maait cited the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report for October 2020 issued Thursday which reported Egypt’s successes, and was issued in conjunction with the fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The fruitful economic reforms adopted by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and supported by the people have granted the Egyptian economy a measure of resilience in facing every challenge, Maait proclaimed.
This was evident in the state’s flexible handling of the coronavirus crisis, he said, as Egypt adopted a proactive policy allocating two percent of the GDP to support the most impacted sectors and groups most affected.
This has thereby mitigated the economic shock and supporting the national economy.
The IMF expects rapid recovery of the Egypt’s economy in the medium term, the minister added, with growth to reach higher rates even compared to those before coronavirus crisis.
He added that it also predicts a decline of the total deficit ratio of the domestic product to 5.2 percent during the fiscal year 2023/2022 and 3.8 percent by the fiscal year 2024/2025.
These expectations displays the ability of Egyptian financial policies to deal with local and international variables and the success of the unprecedented structural reforms that the state is pursuing to sustainably improve the performance of public finances, he explained.
The IMF also expects an increase in the state’s total public revenues during the current fiscal year by 20 percent, compared to 19.2 percent in the previous fiscal year, and the continuation of growth in revenues until fiscal year 2024/2025, he added – especially in light of the government’s measures to hedge against risks of revenue fluctuations through a package of rational policies.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
