Egypt to record GDP of 7% in 2020/21: Finance Min.

CAIRO – 24 April 2018: Egypt aims to achieve a gross domestic product (GDP) of 7 percent by the end of fiscal year 2020/2021, Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said.

Garhy added during the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings that the unemployment rate decreased from 13.5 percent in December 2017 to 11.3 percent in March 2018.

The 2018 Spring Meetings took place in Washington, D.C. from April 20 to April 22, covering issues about monetary policy, the economic and social program of the government, and the progress made in the Egyptian economic reform program.

Regarding providing job opportunities, the minister said that the private sector, which represents 65 percent of Egypt’s economy, is currently responsible for providing jobs in various sectors, such as agriculture, industry, tourism and real estate development.

Meanwhile, the state’s main role is focusing on the service sector through constructing roads, exploring oil and gas, and providing electricity and sanitation, Garhy clarified.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said that Egypt’s unemployment rate slipped to 11.8 percent in 2017, compared to 12.5 percent in 2016.

Garhy added that the current economic reform in Egypt aims to remedy many of the distortions and economic deterioration accumulated over previous years, noting that the government insists on continuing the reform program until its end.

Egypt had embarked on a bold economic reform program that included the introduction of taxes, such as the value-added tax (VAT), and cutting energy subsidies, all with the aim of trimming the budget deficit.

The country also floated its currency in November 2016 before clinching a $12-billion loan from the IMF.

The IMF’s executive board approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFT) loan to Egypt worth $12 billion to support its economic reform program.

In December 2017, Cairo received the third tranche of this loan, worth $2 billion, bringing total disbursements to $6.08 billion, and the fourth tranche, also worth $2 billion, will be received after concluding the program’s third review in June.

The IMF anticipated the GDP to record 6 percent in 2023.

Meanwhile, Planning Minister Hala el-Saeed said that the Egyptian government aims to raise the GDP by 1 percent annually, targeting to reach a GDP of 8 percent in the medium-term plan to meet the population rate that increases by 2.5 million people per year.