Ashraf Sadek CAIRO, Oct 3, 2018 - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has stressed the importance of sustaining action by all the governmental bodies concerned to accelerate the pace of implementing the economic reform programme, which was launched by the state three years ago. President Sisi's directives to this effect came at a meeting he called with members of the ministerial economic group on Wednesday. Attending the meeting were Prime Minister Dr Moustafa Madbouli, Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer, ministers of investment and international co-operation, supply and domestic trade, planning, follow-up and administrative reform, finance, trade and industry, public sector enterprises sector, and the deputy finance minister for fiscal policies, the Presidency Spokesman, Ambassador Bassam Radi, said. The meeting, the spokesman said, dealt with ongoing economic conditions in the light of recent indicators that showed a positive outlook for the economy. One indicator showed that Egypt achieved an economic growth of 5.3 per cent during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017/2018. Another indicator showed that unemployment rate was reduced by 9.9% while the foreign reserves reached $44.4 billion. President Sisi stressed the necessity for pursuing efforts aimed at accelerating the pace of the economic restructuring programmes through adopting institutional and legislative reforms, Ambassador Radi said. These reforms would elevate the economy through increasing growth rates, reducing unemployment rates, and reducing public debt, President Sisi told the meeting. President Sisi emphasised the importance of maintaining full coordination between all ministries and the authorities concerned to carry out these reforms to reinvigorate the economy, Ambassador Radi said. He also stressed the importance of sustaining action by all government departments to improve the investment environment in such an integrated way as to attract additional national and foreign investments. Elaborating on the importance of improving the investment climate, President Sisi noted that it was through such an approach that additional job opportunities could be created for young people, gross domestic product (GDP) could grow further and benefits from the government's comprehensive economic reform programme could be maximised.
