Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said Monday that the World Bank's approval of a three-billion-dollar loan gives credibility to Egypt and its economy. "The three-year loan is aimed at providing Egypt's needs of imports," Ismail told a press conference. "Egypt's imports are valued at 66 billion dollars, which requires paying attention to the national industry," he added. He pointed out that loans are temporary measures to provide basic needs and for the Egyptian to recover. "Several measures have been taken to support the exports," he said. Egypt is targeting a GDP growth rate of close to 6 percent and a reduction in its budget deficit to 8.5 percent by the end of the 2017-18 financial year, Ismail added. As for an Egyptian-Saudi coordination meeting, Ismail said that Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense will start a visit on Tuesday within the framework of the friendly relations. During the visit, a number of projects and memorandums of understanding of interest to the Saudi side in the fields of tourism, agriculture, energy, education, electricity linkage, housing and double taxation, he added. He went on saying that businessmen positively responded to government requests to reduce prices of commodities. "Negotiations with businessmen were based on Egypt's interest, not coercion," he stressed. Source: Reuters & MENA
