Cairo - MENA
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserted that Egypt economic reforms, which included measures to rationalize subsidies and amend tax laws to give more incentives to investment, will continue in the coming years.
The article, that was written by Sisi for DailyNews Egypt and released on its Monday edition on the occasion of the convocation of the annual Euromoney conference, reviewed Egypt's economic challenges, the president's vision for its economic future and plans to achieve economic growth as regards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), reduction of state budget deficit and state debts.
"Last year, Egypt resolved to regain control of its destiny and purposefully embarked upon a process of political, social and economic renewal. The first step was to put the country’s political life back in order by holding a new constitutional referendum and conducting presidential elections. The successful completion of the two critical political markers was instrumental in restoring confidence in the Egyptian state and its institutions. The next political milestone will be the parliamentary elections which will take place in October and November of this calendar year. I look forward to the contributions that the Parliament will make in rebuilding Egypt, not only with respect to crafting new laws to foster the country’s path towards development and greater shared prosperity but particularly in light of its role in monitoring the government’s performance and representing the interest of the people, " Sisi wrote
"On the economic front, it is important to recall that Egypt faced an acute internal crisis during the political transition. The earlier prolonged period of uncertainty and turmoil inflicted significant economic and financial costs. The government budget deficit ballooned into the double digits, foreign exchange reserves shrank, inflation soared, many businesses struggled or were forced to close their doors, many people fell below the poverty line and the numbers of the unemployed grew. That is the set of economic conditions that I confronted as the newly-elected president in 2014. To get the economy back on track and to alleviate the suffering of the Egyptian people, to give Egyptians hope for the future, it was vitally important for the government that I appointed shortly after taking office to come up with a credible and effective plan." He added