10:24 AM
Sunday 05 September 2021
Books – Mustafa Eid:
Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, said that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is leading the largest development movement to change the face of life on the land of Egypt, as the national project for the development of the Egyptian countryside is a “dignified life” among the best development programs in the world according to the testimony of the United Nations, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. today is Sunday.
The minister added that the project contributes to raising the rates of economic growth that are more comprehensive and have an impact on people’s lives. It leads to improving the lives of 58% of Egyptians with investments exceeding 700 billion pounds within three years.
This came during a press statement by the Minister on the sidelines of his participation in the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Uzbekistan, which was held on Friday and Saturday to discuss ways to advance innovation, partnerships, Islamic finance and value-added chains, in order to support the economic and social development of member states.
Maait stressed that the Egyptian economy has become more capable of facing challenges and meeting the aspirations of the Egyptian people, and it scored second place globally in the “Economist” index for the return of life to normal before Corona; This reflects the government’s success in the elaborate implementation of the economic reform program in a manner that contributed to enabling the Egyptian economy to contain the repercussions of the pandemic.
He explained that the last fiscal year witnessed an improvement in financial performance indicators, as the total deficit decreased from 8% to 7.4%, and a primary surplus of 1.4% of GDP was achieved.
The minister stated that all international rating institutions maintained Egypt’s credit rating with a stable outlook despite the pandemic. This embodies its confidence in the solidity of the Egyptian economy and its ability to deal flexibly with internal and external challenges.
He said that there are promising investment opportunities in major national projects in Egypt that attract international development partners, and that Egypt continues to stimulate economic activity and deepen its development partnership with the private sector. Which contributes to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.
He pointed out the Egyptian government’s keenness to stimulate the investment environment by modernizing and mechanizing tax and customs systems to enhance governance, facilitate the business community, and expand digital transformation projects, in a way that helps integrate the informal economy and obtain the right of the state.
The minister said, “We are keen in Egypt for the stability of tax policies in the package of structural reforms to attract investment.”
He added that the Egyptian customs system has witnessed a qualitative development, as importers are now dealing with it by accessing the unified electronic platform for national trade through “smart phones”.
The tax system has also witnessed a qualitative development, and major financiers can also deal electronically through the automated unified tax procedures platform without the need to go to tax offices, according to the minister.
The minister stated that there is a growing interest in achieving human development, as the allocations for the health and education sectors in the state’s general budget for the current fiscal year have exceeded the constitutional entitlement rates, and the “comprehensive health insurance” system has gradually begun to provide integrated health care for all Egyptians.
He explained that government investments during the current fiscal year witnessed an unprecedented increase of 27.6% to maximize spending on development projects.
The minister said that the World Bank estimates, in a recent study, that spending on social protection programs reached 4.2% of GDP in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, and that poverty rates fell by 5.2% through direct support programs for the most needy groups.
He stressed that the Egyptian government is keen to diversify sources of funding, and that Egypt will enter the “sovereign sukuk” market in 2022, explaining that investors’ demand for the first offering of green international bonds reflects their confidence in the Egyptian economy.
The Minister of Finance had participated in the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Uzbekistan, in the presence of the ministers of finance, economy, planning and international cooperation, other ministers in member countries, and representatives of the business sector and civil society.
Maait and Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning, met with Mohamed Al-Jasser, President of the Islamic Development Bank, who welcomed Egypt’s hosting of the next annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation between the two sides in the field of exchanging experiences on the issuance of sovereign sukuk, encouraging the private sector to deepen development partnerships, designing systems to deal with potential financial risks, and evaluating government contracting systems.
The two ministers also met with Ayman al-Sijini, head of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, and the two sides agreed to work to raise the level of cooperation; To include the issue of sovereign sukuk issuance, so that a training program will be launched for this purpose next October, in addition to encouraging trade with African countries, and supporting development projects aimed at empowering women.
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