Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin said on Thursday that he is against subsidizing energy.
“The rich consume more energy, and they should pay for it,” said the minister at a conference on growth rate indicators.
Mohieddin explained that energy subsidies stand at 30 percent more than government spending on health and education.
The conference examined a list of 13 countries that were categorized as “best economies” before the global financial crisis, and attributed their economic success to their ability to maintain a growth rate of seven percent over the years.
Participants identified five conditions that developing countries must meet to join this category. They include political stability, no energy subsidies, continuous development projects, and improvements in education.
“Egypt can join this group if the government can free up roughly eight percent of its GDP to be spentpricing on education,” the minister said.
Translated from the Arabic edition.
