Egypt "only oil-importing country" to achieve positive growth rate

CAIRO - 26 January 2022: The upgrade of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) of Egypt's real GDP growth projections for 2022 to 5.6 percent is a new testimony of confidence in the solidity of the Egyptian economy, its ability to cohesion and withstand global challenges, and gradual recovery from the coronavirus crisis, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait stated.

 

Maait noted that the IMF’s expectations came at a time when its estimates of the growth of the global economy fell by 0.5%; Egypt became the only oil-importing country with positive growth.

 

The IMF raised its forecast for the growth of the Egyptian economy during 2022 to 5.6 percent, compared to its October expectations at 5.2 percent.

 

Chief economist at the IMF, Gita Gopinath, explained that the Egyptian economic growth outlook has improved thanks to the good performance of the Egyptian government in managing the "Covid-19" pandemic, especially in light of the global outbreak of the omicron mutator.

 

Maait pointed out that despite the sharp rise in oil prices and shipping costs, as a result of the good management of the repercussions of the post-pandemic outbreak, as well as the positive economic performance.

 

He explained that the economic reform program contributed to strengthening the structure of the national economy, mitigating the severity of the shock, and containing the negative effects of the corona pandemic, as Egypt became more capable of professional and balanced management of this global crisis, which led to avoiding the Egyptian economy the worst fate in light of the huge repercussions that cast a shadow over the world's largest economies.

 

The minister explained that the successive certificates of confidence that the Egyptian economy received from international financial and rating institutions during the last period confirm that it is on the right path, including: the World Bank’s “Global Economic Prospects” report, which included raising its expectations for economic growth by 1% to reach 5. 5% during 2022, which reflects the efforts made by the government to improve the growth structure to become more diversified.

 

“It also points to the importance of maximizing production capacities, expanding the export base and providing job opportunities, and shows Egypt's success in dealing positively with the coronavirus crisis, as the political leadership took the initiative to allocate a supportive financial package amounting to 2% of GDP to support the sectors and groups most affected,” he noted.

 

Deputy Minister for Financial Policies and Institutional Development, Ahmed Kojak said that Egypt is the only country in the Middle East and Africa that has retained the confidence of all the three global assessment institutions: Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch during one of the most difficult periods in the global economy in light of the pandemic.

 

He explained that the government continues to implement an integrated package of structural reforms to strengthen the macroeconomic structure, which contributes to achieving economic goals and is positively reflected on financial indicators.

 

He pointed out that this report confirms the confidence of IMF experts in the performance of the national economy, in light of the government's increasing interest in opening new development horizons that contribute to strengthening the participation of the private sector in development projects. This will help create new job opportunities, leading to higher growth rates.