Cairo - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi praised on Sunday Egyptian workers and their role in the country's economic development, in a celebration marking the international workers' holiday of 1 May. "I am reminding you that Egypt expects much from you...to build our future for the coming generations," El-Sisi said, addressing workers and union leaders at a ceremony which was broadcast live on national television. El-Sisi said that Egypt, like all the countries in the region, is facing economic, social and political challenges, of which the toughest is terrorism. "We are facing the challenge of terrorism while trying to fix our home from the inside ... we put forth an economic plan that is all encompassing to attract investment and create jobs for the youth," El-Sisi said. Since 2014, Egypt has been implementing a plan of fiscal reforms to deal with budget deficits, which includes fuel subsidy cuts, new taxes to ease the growing budget deficit, and floating the Egyptian pound Meanwhile, the president promised new labour laws that he said will take into consideration woes faced by the country's informal sector. He also said the state is planning to pay more attention to labour- intensive industries, such as spinning and weaving, and aim to developing them technologically.
