Abdel Fattah El Sisi reviewed Monday the government's efforts to increase the volume of exports at a meeting with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer, Finance Minister Hani Qadri and Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Qabil.

According to Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef, the meeting also tackled government efforts, in coordination with the CBE, to encourage local production with the aim of enhancing the national economy.

Plans to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in implementation of a presidential initiative on January 9 on the occasion of Egypt’s Youth Day, were also high on the agenda of the meeting, Youssef said.

Criteria by the Trade and Industry Ministry to guarantee imports’ quality were also discussed during the meeting, he added.

President Sisi highlighted the importance of continued coordination among all the government bodies concerned in order to increase exports and of taking all and every necessary step, on the short and long terms, to guarantee that Egyptian industry has developed and SMEs encouraged, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the meeting addressed the recent low results of the Egyptian Stock Exchange, he concluded.