Strengthening Economic National Security

Escalating regional and global conflicts have heightened risks to economic stability, particularly in developing and emerging economies. Egypt considers Economic National Security a strategic top priority to ensure the resilience of economy against any external shocks, maintain social stability, and safeguard progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this regard, Egypt shows a success story in boosting economic resilience through the previous 10 years amid critical economic and political consecutive transitions locally and regionally as well as internationally. This had been reflected in formulating sustainable and effective economic policies in line with implementing well-targeted structure reforms for the structure of real economy to be more diversified and productive as well as competitive. Hence, the Egyptian Economy becomes more resilient in mitigating the negative repercussions of external shocks.

 In response, the Egyptian government has accelerated structural reforms aimed at diversifying revenue streams, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and strengthening fiscal and monetary governance. These reforms also emphasize private sector empowerment, sustainable debt management, and increased investment in strategic sectors.

Most importantly, Economic National Security is one of strategic pillars of the National Security. Egypt targets maintaining economic and social stability amidst escalating internal and external crises, ensuring the availability of essential resources and their fair distribution among citizens, enhancing the quality of public services, reducing multidimensional poverty. In that context, strengthening economic national security helps in achieving self-sufficiency and reducing dependence on the external sector to finance development goals and covering consumption and investment expenditures. Bearing in mind the greater the dependence on external financing, the more vulnerable the country become to global shocks and geopolitical disruptions.

From another perspective, further strengthening economic national security is a must amid the eruption of wars, conflicts and disputes. Hence, war economy policies have become increasingly important, especially given the growing intensity of regional and international conflicts and disputes, which have been turned into wars. A war economy is defined as a set of emergency measures , which a country takes to mobilize its economy for production during wartime, by establishing a system for producing, mobilizing, and allocating resources efficiently. A war economy is also defined as employing the economy as a crucial component of a country’s war strategy, focusing on directing economic resources to meet the needs of its armed forces and their logistical support. Furthermore, a war economy is defined as the economic measures adopted by countries when their economic situation is affected by surrounding wars and their involvement themselves in these wars as a combatant.

In this regard, the escalating tensions in the Iranian-Israeli-American-Gulf War pose a grave threat to regional and international national security, and consequently, to boost economic security.

Accordingly,some countries are adopting war economy measures to mitigate the repercussions of war, including the fragility and disruption of strategic goods and logistical services, as well as natural gas, electricity, and other strategic resources. This is aggravated by the disruption of international trade and shipping, and the negative economic impacts resulting from rising exchange rates and prices of strategic international commodities, metals, construction materials, and raw materials.

The Egyptian government has implemented several proactive measures, including: reducing electricity consumption (e.g., limiting public lighting and commercial energy use), postponing energy-intensive projects, encouraging remote work to reduce costs and energy demand, building strategic reserves of essential commodities, advancing structural economic reforms to diversify revenue sources, enhancing fiscal and monetary governance, and supporting private sector participation. These policies aim to reduce import dependence, contain inflationary pressures, and improve overall economic resilience.

War economy measures is thus a vital mechanism for safeguarding economic stability, particularly in developing and emerging economies. Such measures contribute to strengthening social protection systems and accelerating progress toward sustainable development. Core policies typically include securing essential commodities, rationalizing public expenditure, reducing import dependency, promoting domestic production, and increasing national savings. These measures aim to sustain living standards while prioritizing key economic sectors.

Additionally, efforts to curb fuel and natural gas consumption have included postponing energy-intensive projects and optimizing transportation systems. The government has also encouraged remote work in both public and private sectors to reduce energy use, transportation costs, and financial burdens on citizens, while helping to control inflationary pressures.

Such measures are not unique to Egypt; they align with practices in advanced economies, where energy efficiency and consumption rationalization are long-standing strategies. Many European countries, for instance, have implemented strict energy-saving regulations, optimized public transportation systems, and expanded remote work models to enhance efficiency and sustainability.

Moreover, Egypt has reinforced its military capabilities by expanding its strategic reserves and modernizing defense infrastructure. However, the implications of war economy policies extend beyond countries directly involved in conflicts and wars. Neighboring and economically interconnected countries are also affected through disrupted supply chains, declining trade and tourism, reduced air traffic, and weakened foreign investment flows.

Key policy pillars and measures of war economy framework, which the Egyptian Government target to curb the negative consequences of war in the Middle-East. First pillar: Resource and Consumption Management include measures to rationalize energy consumption (electricity, fuel, gas), reduce non-essential public spending, establish and maintain strategic reserves of essential goods. Second Pillar: Domestic Production and Self-Sufficiency include measures to Promote local manufacturing and industrial development, reduce reliance on imports for key commodities, Support agricultural and food security initiatives. Third Pillar: Fiscal and Monetary Adjustments cover measures to Reprioritize public spending toward strategic sectors, strengthen fiscal discipline and debt sustainability, enhance monetary stability to control inflation Fourth Pillar: Labor and Efficiency measures to expand remote work systems in public and private sectors, reduce transportation-related costs and energy use, and Improve productivity through digital transformation. Fifth Pillar: Social Protection measures to strengthen social safety nets and mitigate the impact of inflation on low- and middle-income groups

In light of the above, main policy recommendations are considered on the long-term including; institutionalize war economy planning through developing permanent crisis-response frameworks integrated into national economic planning, accelerating energy transition through expanding the incentives and opportunities to invest in renewable energy; reducing dependence on imported fuel. This besides to enhancing domestic production capacity through boosting the productivity of key industries to achieve strategic self-sufficiency. Strengthening Supply Chain Resilience through diversifying trade partners and logistics routes. Expanding Digital Transformation and social protection through institutionalizing remote work and digital services to improve efficiency and ensuing vulnerable groups are shielded from inflation and subsidy reforms. Finally, strengthening regional and international cooperation to manage cross-border economic risks.

In conclusion, adopting war economy measures has become an essential strategy for preserving economic national security in an increasingly volatile global environment. However, such policies must be carefully tailored to each country’s specific economic, political, and social conditions to ensure both resilience and sustainable development. Noteworthy, war economy measures are no longer temporary emergency measures but essential components of modern economic governance. In addition, adopting a proactive, structured approach to economic national security is critical to navigating geopolitical uncertainty, maintaining stability, and ensuring sustainable development.