The government is planning for Egypt to be amongst the top 30 economies in the Global Competitiveness report by 2030, according to Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby. At a Monday conference organised by the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC), El-Araby said that the Egyptian government will adopt the 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy before the end of June. The minister explained that, with the help of the ENCC, the government will focus on raising competitiveness and implementing an administrative reform. "The Civil Service Law issued last March was a step towards our goal, as it is considered one of the most important laws," El-Araby noted. He added that the executive regulation of the law will be issued on 1 July. Egypt's rank in the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) has declined in the past 10 years, falling from 62 out of 104 countries in 2004, to the 119th rank out of 144 countries in 2014. According to a recent ENCC report, the collapse in Egypt's rank occurred despite witnessing an improvement in GDP growth rates and foreign direct investments (FDI). "Thus, raising Egypt's competitiveness doesn't only require improving growth rates, but also addressing administrative issues and reforming the economic policies," the report said. At the beginning of the current fiscal year (FY), the government said it will focus on adopting administrative reform strategies and raising the efficiency of social safety net. This will push the economic growth rate to 3.2% in FY 2014/2015.During the first half of FY 2014/2015, GDP growth recorded 5.6%, up from a 1.2% growth-rate during the same period in the previous year. Egypt targets a 4.2% growth rate for the current fiscal year, compared to the 2.2% rate registered last year. The first half of FY 2014/2015 has seen a 9.9% rise in tax revenues, which recorded EGP 114bn. The budget deficit's growth decreased in the first half the current fiscal year to register EGP 89.4bn, equivalent to 4.5% of GDP. This compared to EGP 132bn, equivalent to 5.7% of the GDP during the last fiscal year.
