Sisi Takes New Measures to Boost State's Financial Sectors

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Thursday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohamed Maait, and discussed the state’s measures to meet the financial needs of different sectors.

Deputy Minister of Finance for Financial Policies Ahmed Kajok attended the meeting as well.

The Spokesman for the Presidency Bassam Rady stated that Sisi followed up on financial performance indicators during July and August 2020, and the state's measures to meet the financial needs of different sectors in the framework of dealing with the repercussions of the novel coronavirus.

In the context of the state's continuing efforts to support the industrial and export sectors, Sisi decided to pay all the arrears and accumulated dues of exporters in the Export Support and Development Fund, amounting to nearly 20 LE billion.

“Sisi’s decision aims to consolidate the state's efforts to provide additional liquidity to the industrial and export sectors because of the importance of these two sectors to the state,” Rady manifested.

“The president asked to study the situation regularly with regard to the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aim of ensuring the stability of financial policies, and preserving the safe economic path of the country,” said Rady.

In related regard, Maait presented the financial situation of the state during the last period.

“The Finance Minister emphasized that the Egyptian economy achieved positive growth rates during the fiscal year 2019/2020 that amounted to about 3.5 percent, making Egypt one of the limited emerging countries that recorded this achievement in light of the pandemic,” the spokesman added. 

He noted that Egypt succeeded to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio during the same period mentioned above.

The Minister of Finance also presented the unprecedented increase in government investments financed from the state budget during the period July / August 2020 by 85 percent.

This would contribute to raising the quality of services, improving infrastructure and boosting economic activity, as well as the increase in budget revenues. 

During that period, the public sector grew at a rate of about 18 percent, which supported the financing of all the needs of the budget apparatus sources and the preservation of the stability of financial institutions.