By Muhammad Ayad
The government will soon make available investment projects worth upwards of $4bn to Arab investors in an effort to revive the economy, according to Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf Al-Arabi.
In a statement read to journalists at the Egyptian Cabinet headquarters, Al-Arabi said that the government had put the final touches on the country’s economic road map, which was currently being discussed. The road map included emergency measures to jumpstart the economy, such as paying dues owed to contractors and coming up with a medium-term economic strategy.
Al-Arabi said he had discussed on Monday with interim prime minister Hazem El-Beblawi the investment aspects of such measures, during a meeting held with the Economic Group that same day. Emergency investment projects would soon be implemented, he said, which would have a positive impact on the economy.
He added that he had recently met with an official economic delegation from the UAE led by State Minister Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, who he said had reinforced his country’s commitment to support the Egyptian economy and help fund investment projects. Agreements regarding such projects would be worked out at a later date, Al-Arabi added.
Hisham Ramez, Chairman of Egypt’s Central Bank, described the state of Egypt’s foreign currency serves as “reassuring”. He assured that such reserves would be enough to meet Egypt’s needs in the way of food and fuels.
