Egypt's diversified economic resources contribute to face COVID-19 crisis

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Sun, 04 Oct 2020 - 11:08 GMT

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Sun, 04 Oct 2020 - 11:08 GMT

Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed - File Photo

Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed - File Photo

CAIRO - 4 October 2020: The Egyptian economy has managed to face the COVID-19 crisis due to its structural diversity, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr Hala El-Saeed said Sunday. 

 

El-Saeed stated that the results of the sectorial contribution to GDP for the fiscal year 19/2020 indicate the contribution of the wholesale and retail trade sector by 13.6 percent, industry by 11.7 percent, agriculture by 11.3 percent, real estate activities by 10.3 percent, construction and construction by 4.9 percent, and transportation and storage by 4.6 percent, and other contributions to the various sectors.

 

The minister added that the results of the economic and social reform program initiated by the Egyptian government in 2016 have made the Egyptian economy resilient against the crisis. The reform program saw an improvement in all indicators of economic performance before the Coronavirus crisis.

 

She highlighted that the country saw its economic growth rate reach 5.6 percent (July-December 19/2020), its unemployment rate decrease to about 8 percent (October-December 19/2020), average inflation rate reach 5 percent (July-March 19/2020), and foreign exchange reserves rise to cover 8.5 months of imports (March 2020).

 

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development also indicated that the non-oil trade balance deficit decreased by 24 percent (January-March 19/2020), in addition to an increase in net foreign direct investment by 19 percent (July-December 2020). There was also an increase in remittances from Egyptians working abroad by 13% (July-December 19/2020), and the decrease in the deficit relative to output to 8.2 percent. (18/2019)

 

El-Said highlighted the 373 pre-emptive measures undertaken to confront the pandemic with the participation of 70 responsible parties, from February 24 until now, targeting the sectors most exposed to risks.

 

“Among these measures is the allocation of LE 100 billion to finance the comprehensive plan to confront the pandemic, tax exemptions, the provision of liquidity and other incentives,” the minister said, “These came in addition to increasing the Ministry of Health's budget by 100%, and launching the online application "Egypt Health" to provide information related to the pandemic.”

 

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