The Finance Minister of Egypt says Reducing Inflation is a Top Concern

CAIRO: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait stated on Tuesday that the primary goal of the Egyptian government is to bring inflation under the central bank’s target. He also mentioned that economic growth is predicted to increase to 4.2 percent in the upcoming fiscal year beginning in July, up from 2.8 percent in the current one, as reported by Reuters.

Additionally, according to Maait, the government wants to sell off additional state assets to lessen the state’s role in the economy, give the private sector more ownership, boost productivity, and raise money to pay down Egypt’s debt.

The conflict in Gaza has hurt Egypt’s economy for the past six months, slowing down the rise of tourism and decreasing earnings from the Suez Canal—two of the nation’s primary sources of foreign exchange. Speaking at the IMF Governor Talks series in Washington, Maait stated that revenue from the waterway has decreased by more than 60%.

Due to these difficulties, Egypt’s financial support from the IMF was increased to $8 billion. Egypt depreciated its currency substantially, announced that it would adopt a flexible exchange rate, and signed a record-breaking $35 billion investment agreement with a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates.

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