Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to sustained, direct engagement with investors to resolve tax, customs, and financial challenges through practical, business-friendly solutions.
Speaking on Tuesday at the annual conference of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises Investors, Kouchouk praised what he described as a “constructive and transparent dialogue” with ambitious investors seeking to scale up their operations.
“Last year, we pledged to introduce the first package of tax facilitation measures — and together, we delivered this commitment,” he said. “Backing the private sector is always a winning choice,” the minister added.
Kouchouk revealed that around 120,000 taxpayers have voluntarily enrolled in the simplified tax regime, supported by targeted financing incentives aimed at encouraging broader participation in the streamlined system.
He added that taxpayers had submitted approximately 660,000 new and amended tax returns, disclosed business volumes totaling LE1 trillion, and paid nearly LE80 billion in additional taxes.
“We take pride in the trust our partners have shown throughout this tax facilitation journey,” Kouchouk said, announcing that a second package of reforms will be submitted to the Egyptian House of Representatives following the Eid Al-Fitr holiday.
Kouchouk stressed that the government will continue efforts to energise economic activity, with a focus on industry, tourism, and exports, while also working to shorten customs clearance times and reduce cost pressures on investors.
For his part, Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem underscored the importance of strengthening engagement with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), describing them as a critical link between large-scale industries and micro-enterprises, and a cornerstone of Egypt’s productive economy.
He emphasised that achieving sustainable industrial development requires greater integration and cohesion across sectors, alongside improved access to accurate and reliable data on markets, commodities, and industrial activity. Hashem noted that the ministry is preparing a comprehensive overhaul of its economic data management systems.
The minister also highlighted plans to boost productive activities in rural and village areas to raise household incomes, generate sustainable employment, and curb internal migration to major urban centres.
On exports, Hashem said the government’s strategy will go beyond increasing volumes to prioritise higher local content in exported goods, aiming to deepen domestic manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported inputs.
Meanwhile , the Chairman of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Investors in Egypt, Alaa El-Saqty, called for closer collaboration between government institutions and the private sector to support the national economy and enable productive industries to expand and create more jobs.
