Egypt's financial year 2020/2021 budget aims to reduce the poverty rate to 30 percent, down from 32.5 percent during the financial year 2017/2018, said Minister of Planning Hala El-Said on Monday. The budget also aims to reduce the extreme poverty rate to 5 percent, El-Said added. The investment plan included in the financial year 2020/2021 budget allocates 8 billion Egyptian pounds ($503.9 million) to fight poverty in 357 villages, the Hayah Karima initiative, the initiative to protect the middle class, and the initiative to energise Egypt's production process. The financial year 2020/2021 budget also aims to decrease the illiteracy rate to 22 percent in the 2020/2021, down from 25.8 percent in the financial year 2017/2018, the Egyptian minister added.
