CAIRO – Egyptian Planning Minister Hala el-Saeid said Tuesday that Egypt has worked over the past years to improve the quality of living, upgrade services and achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth.
Speaking during the third edition of the Egypt Economic Summit, Saeid put the volume of public investment during 2021-2022 at about LE933 billion, noting that this is a 46 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
The world is still witnessing the same exceptional circumstances that started two years ago as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the minister said, voicing concern about potential economic losses and damage to labour markets, finance markets and international supply chains.
Losses of the global economy have so far reached about 22 trillion dollars, Saeid noted.
This year’s summit focuses on international inflation and the role played by the private and public sectors to face it.
Saeid told the summit that poverty and unemployment rates have hit record high, pointing out that the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic for the economy and the society are far more severe than any other, including the Great Depression in 1929-1939 and the Great Recession in 2008-2009.
Covid-19 has dealt quite a blow to both supply and demand; affecting international chains, the industry, employment and all economic sectors in one time and in all world countries, the minister explained.
Indeed, the global economy has shown relative recovery, with the growth rate expected to reach 4.9 per cent in 2022, but the coronavirus crisis is still ongoing as new variants continue to emerge and negatively affect supply chains in developed and developing countries alike, Saeid said.
Discussion about this post