On Monday, October 19th, the U.S.-Egypt Business Council, in partnership with AmCham Egypt, Inc., was honored to host His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Maait, Egyptian Minister of Finance for a virtual meeting on Egypt’s fiscal outlook.  Following welcoming remarks by U.S. Chamber SVP Khush Choksy and AmCham Egypt, Inc. CEO Hisham Fahmy, the Minister explained that Egypt entered the current global health crisis in a strong fiscal standing, in large part due to the successful implementing of a number of key reforms proposed by the IMF. These reforms have led Egypt to be the only Arab country, and one of three in Africa, to achieve positive GDP growth this year. A number of international institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have also supported this forecast.

Under the leadership of HE Minister Maait, the Ministry of Finance has continued its efforts to improve the country’s infrastructure, encourage greater foreign investment, and empower the private sector through structural reforms. During an insightful presentation, the Minister and his team discussed that while Egypt’s GDP growth was previously projected to be near 6%, they are estimating growth at around 3.6% this year, which remains to be a significant achievement given that tourism and Suez Canal revenues, on which Egypt heavily depends, have fallen exponentially as a result of the pandemic. At the conclusion of his comments, the Minister asserted that Egypt’s economic growth is dependent on the private sector, and throughout his tenure he has worked to ensure that the private sector takes the helm of the economy.