Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk announced that Egypt's external debt related to the budget sector declined by $2bn over the 10-month period from July 2024 to May 2025. He attributed this development to the return of foreign investor confidence, which also contributed to an extension in the average debt maturity to 1.8 years as of December 2024. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Kouchouk noted that Egypt's economic outlook is improving, underpinned by robust private sector activity, which accounted for 60% of total investments during the same period. He highlighted that Egypt achieved its highest primary budget surplus since 2005, reaching 3.1% between July 2024 and May 2025, despite headwinds including a drop in Suez Canal revenues and increased energy sector spending. Despite losing EGP 110bn in Suez Canal revenues and allocating an additional EGP 150bn to support the energy sector, the government remains committed to meeting its fiscal targets, Kouchouk said. He reported a 38% year-on-year increase in tax revenues—Egypt's highest in years—achieved without introducing new tax burdens. Key sectors such as tourism, non-oil manufacturing, and ICT witnessed strong growth during the first half of the fiscal year. On the expenditure side, Kouchouk noted that government spending on health rose by 27% and on education by 23% over the past ten months. The state allocated EGP 95bn for food subsidies—a 37% annual increase—and EGP 30bn for the "Takaful and Karama" social protection programme, up 24% year-on-year. He added that EGP 11bn was spent on medical treatment at the state's expense, marking a 35% increase, while support for industrial production surged by 128% to EGP 8bn. Exporters also received around EGP 15bn in government support. Kouchouk further pointed to a rise in remittances from Egyptians abroad, which climbed to $26.4bn between July 2024 and March 2025—an increase of 7.82% compared to the previous year.
