CAIRO - Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said Sunday that the principles of the January 25 Revolution, freedom, dignity and social justice, were defining the path towards a more just and efficient economy. In a televised statement to the nation on the occasion of May Day, Sharaf said that his government was working hard on “rebuilding the Egyptian economy and increasing job opportunities”, which required cooperation, and to restore production in all sectors and shift to a democratic system based on transparency and the absence of corruption. On his recent visit to the Gulf, Sharaf said that he felt a strong desire in the countries he visited (Saudi, Kuwait and Qatar), to enhance the flow of investments to Egypt. Sharaf stressed the priorities of his interim/transitional government, topped with reforming the whole wage system and implementing trade union freedoms. The Government is also launching an ambitious small and medium enterprise (SMEs) progarmme to set the wheel of the national economy in motion. A separate Egyptian bank will be allocated to provide financing to SMEs to secure continuity. Broadening the umbrella of social solidarity and health insurance for all Egyptian people are two other main targets, together with carrying out low-cost housing projects and national ones for boosting development and employment. At the end of his statement, Sharaf addressed Egypt's labourers, saying that the people themselves would boost production as they were “the backbone of the economy”.
