PM: State Ready with Solid Plan to Secure Foreign Exchange Needs

PM Mostafa Madbouly said that the state has an elaborate plan to provide non-traditional resources of foreign exchange during the coming period, specifically until June 30, 2023; to secure foreign exchange needs, and enable the Egyptian economy to move with some flexibility.

The Prime Minister indicated, during his answer to a question about the high exchange rate of the dollar during a press conference on Tuesday, that the Central Bank issued an important decision regarding the cancellation of documentary credits, as the value of shipments excluded from this decision increased to $500,000 instead of $5,00 , which helped release a large portion of the goods, to be gradual increased.

Madbouly stressed that, within two months at least, the state will be able to end the problems related to documentary credits, and this is what is already being worked on permanently, explaining also that the state is working with all its efforts to return to the state of stability before the crisis.

With regard to the commodity file and the government's continuous efforts to provide strategic commodities to the Egyptian citizen, the Prime Minister stressed that EGP 130 billion in the state's general budget reserves were made available  to bear the burden as much as possible, and ensure the stability of goods, and a drop in prices. 

"Some merchants take advantage of the matter to raise the prices of commodities significantly, and the greed of these merchants places the burden on the government," he pointed out.

The Prime Minister also clarified, in the context of commenting on this question, that the government is working in coordination with the various state agencies, the armed forces, and the Ministries of Interior and Supply, through the outlets in the governorates to offer goods at appropriate prices.

He added, "The state is doing its best through its various agencies to rein in the greed of merchants, and through the Consumer Protection Agency, the governorates, the Ministry of Interior, the Supply Police, and others."

"The citizen has an important role to play in reporting these greedy merchants, so that the state and its agencies can confront this matter, and move towards improving and stabilizing conditions during the coming period."

Regarding the measures that the government is working on to attract more foreign investments despite the continuation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Madbouly indicated that a number of new incentives have been announced that would attract investments and improve and raise the efficiency of the investment climate in Egypt, including incentives for green projects, as well as a new system was put forward to make land available for industrial projects.

The Prime Minister confirmed that, in order to address the most important obstacle represented by the complexity of the procedures that disturb the investor, the "golden license" was activated to issue licenses to investors, and a committee was formed headed by the Prime Minister to issue licenses for serious projects.

The PM also explained that infrastructure projects (ports, airports, roads, etc.) are the main catalyst for attracting investors and thus providing job opportunities for Egyptian youth, as the state needs, in a clear challenge, to provide about one million job opportunities annually, which is difficult to achieve in some developed countries themselves, but despite this, the state is working as hard as possible to bridge that gap.