President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued directives to officials to exert further efforts to reduce public debt and slash budget deficit through proceeding with the comprehensive economic reform program and focusing on its various institutional, legislative, financial and monetary aspects. Sisi made the remarks during a meeting on Thursday with members of the Economic Ministerial Committee, in the presence of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Tarek Amer in addition to the ministers of investment and international cooperation, planning, monitoring and administrative reform, finance, trade and industry and public business sector. Sisi said the economic reform program helps promote confidence in the Egyptian economy's performance and ability to attract investments in a way that increases production rates and improves competitiveness, Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. The meeting also touched on the draft budget for the 2019/2020 fiscal year, which mainly focuses on human and social development via plans to reform the education system, upgrade health services and develop training programs for the youth. The spokesman added that the draft budget aims to maintain the sustainability of growth rates, generate sufficient job opportunities and avoid any economic slowdown. It also targets stability of the tax system to preserve the country's tax resources, Rady noted.
