UN official expects robust economic recovery in Egypt in 2021

RABAT - 12 April 2020: Director of the North Africa Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Khaled Hussein said coronavirus crisis is a short-term crisis, expecting the Egyptian economy to witness a robust recovery in 2021.

For years, Egypt has been achieving highest growth rates in North Africa region and has been able to set up a solid infrastructure that will enable the country to overcome the crisis and go ahead with development process, he said in an interview with MENA.

About coronavirus crisis, he urged not making a mountain out of a molehill saying Egypt relies on five main sources to provide foreign currency; Egyptian expatriates' remittances, commodity exports, tourism, direct foreign investments and Suez Canal revenues.

They represent 30 percent of Egypt's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he added.

Yes, the current crisis will negatively affect the five foreign currency sources unlike the previous crises that only affected one or two sources at most, he said. But still it is an adventitious crisis and the Egyptian economy will overcome it and recover quickly.

He lauded the measures taken by Egypt to address the crisis from the very start, including allocating 100 billion pounds from reserves to address exceptional situations, channeling 3.8 billion pounds to boost health sector, provides 10 billion pounds to buy local wheat and earmarking 12.7 billion pounds to secure basic commodities.

The Egyptian government also reduced natural gas and electricity price for industrial activities, he added.