Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said earlier this week that Egypt's budget deficit, in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending in June, fell to 5.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared with 6.2 percent in the corresponding period last earlier.
Maait added that the budget recorded an initial surplus of EGP 35.6 billion in the same period, equivalent to 0.7 percent of GDP, against an initial deficit of EGP 7 billion a year earlier.
The minister confirmed that Egypt has become a role model for many countries, in terms of economic reform progress. "Economic indicators have been met with a lot of appreciation from international institutions, making Egypt a role model for many economies," he said, adding that the fiscal target surpassed expectations of the international institutions.
He explained that the successful completion of the reform program resulted in the decline of inflation rates and the increase of foreign reserves, leading to the stability of the currency exchange rate.
Meantime, the ministry focuses on automating the system of payments through a new mechanism. "This month, the government started collecting governmental dues electronically," he pointed out.
Egypt targets growth of 5.6 percent in the current FY, compared with its previous target of 5.8 percent.
In addition, Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies Ahmed Kajuk said that the ministry is working on reducing the debt to 93 percent of GDP by June 2019.
He added that investments, particularly in the education and health sectors, increased by 54 percent.
Egypt targets growth of 5.6 percent in the current FY, compared with its previous target of 5.8 percent.
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