The 2018/2022 medium-term plan of sustainable development aims to increase net foreign direct investment (FDI) to $11 billion in 2018/2019 and to gradually escalate to about $20 billion in 2021/2022 from $7.9 billion in 17/2018, according to the Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed. The minister stated that the plan targets achieving a high growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP), reaching 5.8 percent in the first year of the plan 2018/2019, and to gradually rise to 8 percent in the plan's last year 2021/2022, with an increase per capita of real GDP at an average of more than 3 percent in the first year of the plan to record 6 percent in the last year of it. Egypt's growth rate for 2017/2018 fiscal year hit its highest level in 10 years as it recorded 5.3 percent against 4.2 percent in the year before. Saeed added that it aims to provide about 750,000 job opportunities in 2018/2019 by developing the absorptive capacity of the labor market to gradually increase to provide 870,000 opportunities in 2021/2022. The objectives of the medium-term sustainable development plan also include raising the savings rate to about 11 percent in 18/2019, gradually increasing to about 23 percent by the end of the plan and increasing the investment rate from about 16.9 percent of GDP in 17/2018 to 18 percent in the first year of the plan, and 25.6 percent in the last year, she said. Saeed pointed out that the development of non-petroleum exports at an average annual growth rate of around 13 percent to reach $35 billion by the end of the plan, is one of the objectives of the sustainable development plan for the years 2018-2022, as well as the rationalization of imports to gradually reduce imports to $45 billion in the last year of the plan. It also includes reducing the trade deficit of GDP steadily from 13.7 percent in 17/2018 to 11.6 percent in the first year of the plan to gradually decrease to 7.7 percent in the last year (21/2022), the minister said. She continued saying that they aim to trim the budget deficit to 8.5 percent in 2018/2019, from 9.5 percent in 2017/2018, to reach below 5 percent level in 2022. The 2018/2022 plan aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and accelerate its transition to the knowledge economy, to rank Egypt among the five leading countries in the group of emerging countries and the list of international 30 countries of the competitive index, she said. The minister said earlier this month that that the medium-term sustainable development plan aims to complete a number of projects in the governorate concerning water projects, noting that the plan includes the completion of the desalination plant in Hurghada and the start of two desalination plants in Zafarana and Ras Ghareb as well as the desalination plant in Safaga.
