Sisi Calls for Debt Reduction, More Competitive Economy

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi directed the government to resume efforts toward reducing both public debt and budget deficit, providing a stable environment that boosts confidence in the performance of the Egyptian economy, attracting more investments, and raising the competitiveness.

Sisi also directed officials to focus on human and social development by improving education and health systems, which are experiencing an unprecedented increase in their allocations.

This came during a meeting held by the Egyptian President with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer and Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

The meeting dealt with the follow-up indicators of economic and financial performance for the current fiscal year 2019-20.

Sisi stressed the need to reflect the improvement of economic performance on the quality of public services, benefiting all segments of the society, especially the most impoverished.

The meeting also reviewed the executive position of the tax system development plan and the improvement of the credit rating of the Egyptian economy by the international agencies, confirming the development of business confidence in the performance of the economy and prospects for its progress during the next phase.

It is noteworthy that Egypt's domestic debt rose by the end of March to EGP 4.204 trillion, equivalent to 79 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to EGP 3.538 trillion during the same month last year.

According to the central bank's official website, Egypt's external debt recorded $ 106.2 billion at the end of March, compared to $ 96.6 billion at the end of 2018.