Egypt’s economy grew by 1.1% in the first quarter of the 2014/15 fiscal year which began in July, according to a report on Tuesday by state-owned Al-Ahram.
The figure was 6.8% higher than the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year, which was hit by political instability and violence following the military’s ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July 2013. El-Araby attributed the improvement to growth in the tourism and construction sectors, as well as increased revenues from the Suez Canal.
Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby said during a press conference that GDP growth rates in the first quarter show that the government’s economic reform programme is working and will bolster the report currently being prepared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is expected to be published before the March economic summit.
El-Araby said that he does not deny the challenges facing Egypt, that include economic reform programmes in energy, and reducing the deficit, inflation, and public debt, adding that “we will face these challenges and we are determined to move forward”.
El-Araby, who is going to participate in the Invest in Egypt conference in the United Arab Emirates next week, directed a message to investors claiming that “all investor problems with government agencies will be resolved, and Egypt is on track for economic reform”.
A government committee is working to resolve indebtedness entanglement between the ministries of investment, finance, oil, and electricity which is estimated at EGP20bn, stated El-Araby during a press conference at the Ministry of Planning on Tuesday, adding that the resolution of entanglements between various executive bodies will improve the management of state assets.
According to the minister “resolving entanglements between various ministries is one of the economic reform mechanisms that Egypt is undertaking at the moment.”
