IMF: Egyptian Economy Enjoys Great Potential for Growth

Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Egyptian economy has a great ability to grow, and to expand this ability, a set of economic reforms must be undertaken.

Azour said, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Fund and the World Bank in Marrakesh, “In Egypt, we have a program that began 9 months ago and has several pillars, including the private sector and its role and facilitating its ability to invest, and the pillar of the role of the state and the public sector and giving more room for investment by transforming public institutions, the pillar of monetary policy and addressing social inflation.”

He added: “The Egyptian economy was exposed to pressure through external shocks. In this type of economy, immunity is strengthened through a flexible exchange rate system. There has also been some progress on some tracks, while other tracks need more work, and this progress must be built on to conclude the first review and the second."

He stressed: "We consider that the Egyptian economy has strong capabilities and the ability to grow, and to expand this ability, a number of things must be done at the level of economic policies and reforms. Through change, the economy is moving more towards export because export creates the ability to obtain foreign currency without having to attract hot cash, which sometimes has a negative impact."

He explained: “Our commitment to Egypt is ongoing and soon a mission will go to Egypt to complete the consultations. The most important reforms in Egypt’s program relate first to having a greater ability to obtain competition between the public and private sectors with a group of laws that makes a suitable business environment for that."

He also stated that: “Among the reforms is also a review of some laws on public institutions so that they are subject to the same data, such as the private sector, which pays taxes and fees, while some public institutions are exempt from them, which creates a disparity."

"There are axes that are progressing, and Egypt has committed to them, and there is progress at different speeds ... The important thing is that there is consistency in progress, and this is what we are working on with the Egyptians,” the IMF director concluded.