Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stressed the importance of boosting the private sector’s role in development process and increasing its share of total investments through encouraging domestic and foreign investments.
The president also gave directives to sustain efforts to create a climate conducive for more private investments, taking into account the important role of the private sector in the development process, especially in terms of creating job opportunities and increasing rates of gross domestic product (GDP).
President Sisi was speaking during a meeting on Wednesday with the Ministerial Economic Group, comprising Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer, Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed, Minister of International Co-operation Rania al-Mashat, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet, Minister of the Public Business Sector Hisham Tawfik, and Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea.
President Sisi also reviewed the performance indicators of the Egyptian economy, Presidential Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.
The GDP growth rates had increased gradually since the beginning of the current year 2021, to achieve a significant and remarkable leap, standing at 7.7 per cent in the fourth quarter, despite the great challenges and repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.
The president noted that the government has taken balanced measures in dealing with the pandemic taking into account the safety of citizens on the one hand and maintaining the economic activities on the other.
The government has also taken a raft of stimulus packages during the pandemic that were instrumental in increasing growth rates.
During the meeting, the president discussed the outcomes of the efforts to maintain the dwindling government debt-to-GDP ratio starting from the current fiscal year, as well as efforts to resolve financial entanglements in light of many initiatives taken by the state in this regard, according to the presidency spokesman.
The unemployment rates had decreased during 2021.
The meeting also dealt with the most important targets of the Egyptian economy during the next period. These targets aim at achieving sustainable growth through reaching high levels of investment and maintaining price stability, in addition to achieving high employment rates and decent job opportunities, Radi said.
President Sisi called for achieving appropriate level of foreign reserves and reducing external debt rates by reducing foreign borrowing and limiting it to development loans.
In the course of the meeting, the president followed up on the latest preparations for organising and hosting the first edition of the Egypt International Co-operation Forum “Egypt-ICF,” which will be held under the auspices of President Sisi in Cairo during the period from September 8 to 9.
The forum will be held under the slogan “Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Development” with high-level international and regional participation in addition to representatives of the private sector.
The forum aims to promote joint action to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially after the negative repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on health, economic and social levels, according the presidency spokesman.
The organisation of this forum in Egypt reflects the importance of unifying efforts of countries and directing international co-operation and financing for development to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development, especially in emerging and developing economies, with a focus on Africa, which represents the strategic depth of Egypt.
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