Amr el-Garhy
Garhy cited the strong backing that Egypt received from the G7 countries on the government reform program.
Garhy added that tax yields also climbed 45 percent, compared to an average of 20 percent during the last three years.
The Finance Minister addressed on Tuesday a general session at the parliament to discuss the final account of the state budget for fiscal year 2016/17.
Garhy said that the deficit is declining by the year and that it dropped from 12.5 percent in 2016/17 to 10 percent in 2017/18.
This came during the “Inclusive Growth and Job Creation Conference” organized by IMF, in cooperation with the government and the Central Bank of Egypt.
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The decline also reflects stability in commodity prices, which were largely impacted by the flotation of the Egyptian pound, the Finance Minister said.
Garhy added that the unemployment rate decreased from 13.5 percent in December 2017 to 11.3 percent in March 2018.
Egypt is targeting an unemployment rate of 9.7 percent by the end of 2019 and this percentage can be achieved by reaching a growth of 5.8 percent, according to Garhy.
Garhy clarified that huge projects established by the government provided job opportunities whether temporary or seasonal.
The price of oil in the new budget is set at $67 per barrel, Minister of Finance said.
The Finance Ministry said Monday two billion euros have been auctioned in a dual-tranche euro-denominated bond sale.
The economic growth rate hit 5.2 percent with the start of the current fiscal year, Amr el-Garhy said.
Egypt plans to float shares in state owned oil company, Engineering for Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), in September.
The government will announce the new price of the dollar in the upcoming budget after discussing the estimated budget.
Garhy said that there is no official statement concerning the dollar price in the budget of fiscal year 2018/2019.
Garhy added during his speech that the budget deficit is estimated to record 9.6 - 9.8 percent during the current fiscal year.
The minister added during his speech at "Combating Tax Evasion Conference" that tourism revenues are currently standing at $18-19 billion.
Amr el-Garhy said that Egypt implemented a treatment plan for economic bugs during 2016 and 2017, which helped in achieving sustainable development goals.
Egypt will choose the banks that would manage its anticipated euro denominated Eurobonds in two weeks, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy told Reuters Tuesday.
