Massader News – Eman Hamed
A package of economic measures and decisions taken by the Egyptian government recently, this has been explained by the government as to create a sound economic environment which is attractive to investment and contribute to the acceleration of growth.
In order to complete this, it will be required facing a range of pressing economic and political challenges, as important issues will be waiting the next Egyptian president …
Adventure of Fixing
Ambassador Jamal Bayoumi, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Investors, said that the Egyptian economy has passed through a difficult phase that required strong political decisions, describing the economic reform program as an adventure, stressing its success in stabilizing exchange rates and increasing monetary reserves.
The upcoming presidential period includes challenges and important issues, foremost of which is achieving social justice and taking into consideration the poorest groups affected by economic reforms and still do not feel the improvement of the state economic situation, he added.
Through improving the work environment and expanding projects to provide more jobs. He explained.
He pointed to the need of including the poor or those who are unable to work, on social security projects such as Takaful pensions and Karamah.
Bayoumi stressed the need to pay attention to operate the suspended factories and the expansion of new industrial cities.
He also Pointed to the purification of the governmental structure and the elimination of disguised unemployment to get rid of bureaucracy.
A free Zone
The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Investors stressed the importance of increasing joint economic relations with countries through the state, investors and business organizations, as well as the need to establish an Egyptian-American free trade zone as the United States is one of Egypt’s largest trading partners and the largest importing market in the world.
Arabize Jobs
He called on the Egyptian government to work with the Arab countries to Arabize jobs and increase dependence on Arab labor instead of foreign labor.
Series of Procedures which described as bold, were taken despite the suffering of many categories of the Egyptian people from their consequences and direct impact on the prices of goods and services, the same period witnessed a major projects and legislative amendments as well as improving relations with many countries.
A World Bank report entitled “Egypt Economic Outlook – October 2017” showed that the Egyptian economy posted a growth rate of 4.1% in fiscal year 2016-2017, slightly below the real growth rate of 4.3% achieved in the previous year.
The World Bank’s report praised Egypt’s implementation of an ambitious fiscal program by reducing subsidies on energy products, containing the wage bill and applying VAT, which helped to make resources available to expand social spending and reduce the budget deficit to 10.7 percent from the GDP in the fiscal year 2016-2017.
The World Bank predicted that the Egyptian economy will register a growth rate of 4.55 in the current fiscal year thanks to the flexibility of private consumption and support the recovery of commodity exports and the tourism sector and the operation of new gas fields.
Land Reclamation
Mohammed Shukri, Vice President of the Chamber of Food Industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, stressed that the next president needs to focus on three main axes to improve economic conditions: agriculture, land reclamation, industrial land and internal trade.
Shukri stressed the importance of paying attention to these axes to increase production and create a stimulating and organized investment climate by focusing on increasing cultivated areas to provide raw material for food factories to limit the import of food.
Trade Regulation
He called for organizing internal trade to guarantee the right of consumers and the state, regulating tax transactions and transforming random trade into organized entities through strict laws and activating existing laws through an administrative structure capable of dealing with modern systems.
Egypt is preparing for the presidential elections at the end of March between current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his rival Musa Mustafa Musa, head of the Ghad party.
Development projects
During his first term in office, the Egyptian president President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reviewed the latest developments in the country at a national conference.. The most important of these, was the increase in the flow of foreign direct investment by 14% in the fiscal year 2016-2017.
As well as the implementation of 245 thousand residential housing units at a total cost of 32 EGP billion, and the implementation of 355 thousand units at a cost of 71 EGP billion.
In addition to the implementation of projects to develop natural gas fields with total investments amounted to 12.6 US billion to reach 5 million square feet per day, an increase of 130% for the period from 2010 to 2014.
As well as digging of the Suez Canal and opening it in one year at a cost of 64 EGP billion, and, and the inauguration of the axis of the Canal region.
An additional of 1 million acres due to be cultivated by the end of 2018, apart from the 1.5 million acres’s project, the Egyptian president announced during the conference( A story Of A country).