CAIRO: The capstone of the Euromoney Conference came yesterday afternoon as Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif took the stage to discuss the current state of the Egyptian economy.
Singing in thematic harmony with the many Cabinet ministers that had spoken before him, Nazif largely touted the strength of the economy, seamlessly flipping concerned questions from the moderator and the audience in order to highlight the positives.
Before taking questions, though, Nazif began his session with brief opening remarks. In them, he addressed the two major economic challenges Egypt has faced this year: commodity and energy price increases early in the year and the current global economic meltdown.
“We were integrating with the rest of the world, and you pay your price when you integrate, he said of the hardships that hit the country early in the year.
One outcome of the troubles from early in the year was the dramatic increase in the inflation rate. But Nazif argued his government’s case in the handling of inflation, urging his audience to read the numbers.
“We expect inflationary figures to start dropping, he said.
Reprising the sunny outlook for the economy that many discussed, Nazif addressed the current crisis, asserting the strength of the Egyptian banks.
“Our banking system today. is in a much better position than many, many countries in the world, he said.
Nazif also forecasted that, despite turmoil in the international markets, the growth rate would remain steady at around 7 percent. “If not, he added quickly, “maybe 6 percent.
In his unscripted remarks, Nazif made several other predictions.
He anticipated that Egypt would emerge from the economic crisis with “fewer but bigger banks, noting the continued consolidation of the banking system.
He also predicted that the country would see “more private-public partnerships in infrastructure, adding that the market would see more of this in the coming weeks.
In one of his first and most probing questions, moderator Simon Brady asked Nazif to discuss his greatest concern with regard to the Egyptian economy.
Not missing a beat, Nazif deflected the question and turned the discussion back on the international community. “We’re more concerned about slowing growth in the rest of the world, he said.
Though he took little opportunity to look backwards, Nazif did note in response to a question that the deficit as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 11 percent to 7 percent over the four years of his tenure.
Nazif’s speech, however, boiled simply down to a pep talk directed at Egypt’s major economic and financial powerbrokers who had assembled in the room.
Lines like “Our resolve is still there, and, we’re looking for “not just good answers but good responses were common throughout his remarks.
He became most emphatic, though, when an audience member asked him about whether the current economic slowdown might slow his hopes for a trickledown effect in the economy.
The Prime Minister passionately argued that he had met with many low-income Egyptians, mentioning specifically farmers and construction workers, and dared anyone in the audience to argue that these laborers were not better off today.
There were no farmers or construction workers available at the conference to comment.
