SHARM EL SHEIKH, Aug 5, 2018 (MENA) - Addressing a meeting of the governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) in Africa, Egypt's Finance Minister Mohamed Maeit said the Egyptian government is keen on completing its comprehensive economic reform programmes. He said that the conference, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, is meant to outline unified polcies to help African countries cope with development challenges. The minister noted that Cairo will build on the success achieved regarding the growth rate, which increased to 5.3 per cent in 2017-2018, and unemployment rates which dropped to 10.6 per cent in March 2018. He said at the African Caucus 2018 on Sunday that foreign currency reserves have also upped to unprecedented and satisfactory rates, exceeding 44 billion dollars. Following directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the government will continue to work on upgrading the health and education sectors, Maeit assured. Besides this, the government will also be working to boost the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy through adopting a flexible exchange rate system, the minister said. It will act to remove all obstacles facing the private sector and export activities, he added. He touched upon efforts to improve the infrastructure and services offered to citizens, using the financial surplus that was the direct result of reforms applied to revenues and expenses. Maeit told the conference the government is seeking to quickly activate the Egyptian Stock Exchange and enhance its market value. This, he added, should also help attract more investments, secure sources of income and improve the governance and transparency system.
