Minister Mohamed Maait, Egyptian Finance Minister revealed the aim to reduce the budget deficit to 6.7 percent, raise growth to 5.4 percent, and reduce debt to less than 90 percent in the current fiscal year, which ends at the end of next June.
Minister Maait said: "We are moving at a steady pace towards strengthening the macroeconomic structure, maintaining the sustainability of the state's public finances, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of expenditures and revenues," adding that "the government is adopting, during the budget of the current fiscal year, a rational fiscal policy based on achieving a balance between financial stability and support for economic activities based on manufacturing and export, and support for the social protection network," noting that "we were able to achieve a growth rate of 3.3 percent of GDP during the last fiscal year", recording a primary surplus of 1.45 percent, and reducing the total budget deficit to about 7.4 percent,” noting that “the current fiscal year will witness a continued improvement in the pace of economic progress, as we aim to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5 percent of GDP, and reduce the total deficit to 6.7 percent, with growth rates reaching 5.4 percent.
Source (ASharq Al Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
