Al-Mashat details Egypt's economic reform progress at IDSC conference
Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, on Tuesday detailed the nation's efforts to implement its National Programme for Structural Reforms and enhance macroeconomic stability.
Al-Mashat was speaking at the annual scientific conference of the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), held in collaboration with Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science. The conference, themed 'Structural and Institutional Reforms in Egypt: The Road to Sustainable Growth,' was also attended by Dr Osama El-Gohary, Assistant to the Prime Minister and IDSC Chairperson; Mohamed Sami Abdel Sadek, President of Cairo University; Hanan Mohamed Ali, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University; and Omneia Helmy, Professor of Economics at the faculty and Chairperson of the conference.
During her address, Al-Mashat stated that Egypt has made significant strides in economic reform over recent years, aiming to achieve macroeconomic stability, address structural imbalances, and bolster the economy's resilience. She said these efforts involved a combination of macroeconomic policy reforms and integrated structural and institutional reforms, implemented by various state agencies and overseen by her ministry.
The minister explained that this ongoing process is increasingly acknowledged by the international community and global economic institutions. She noted that major institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recently revised their growth forecasts upwards for the Egyptian economy in 2025 and 2026, even as they downgraded forecasts for many other countries due to growing complexities in the global economic landscape. Al-Mashat said this 'confirms the effectiveness of the reform policies adopted by the Egyptian state and the confidence of international partners in its path.'
Al-Mashat added that Egypt aims to transform its economic model to achieve sustainable growth, based on tradable and exportable sectors, by stimulating investment, localising industry, and implementing measures to enhance the national economy's resilience and shock absorption capacity. She noted that economic and structural reform measures implemented since March 2024 contributed to a GDP growth rate of 4.3% during the second quarter of the 2024/2025 fiscal year, compared to 2.3% in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
'Despite positive indicators, the most important aspect is the components of this growth and which sectors experienced greater growth,' Al-Mashat clarified. She stated that second-quarter growth was driven by the non-petroleum manufacturing sector, which recorded a growth rate of 17.74% for the third consecutive quarter, compared to a contraction of 11.56% in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Growth was also seen in the transportation and storage, tourism, and communications and information technology sectors, reflecting the impact of structural reforms aimed at enhancing productivity and supporting export-led growth, the minister said.
Furthermore, Al-Mashat noted that structural and institutional reforms are a primary focus for the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation. These efforts are part of implementing the National Programme for Structural Reforms, in coordination with relevant ministries and in partnership with international financial institutions and development partners. This programme is based on three pillars: enhancing macroeconomic stability, improving the business environment and promoting the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, and supporting the transition to a green economy. 'There is no doubt that structural reforms are a top priority in the government's programme until 2027, given the pivotal role these reforms play in consolidating macroeconomic stability and enhancing its ability to face external challenges,' she stated.
In this context, Al-Mashat added that Egypt successfully implemented over 86 structural measures last year. These included enacting amendments to the Public Finance Law to set an annual ceiling on government debt, preparing a draft procedural guide for programme and performance budgeting, and taking measures to cancel exemptions granted to state-owned enterprises, alongside offering investment incentives and facilitating tax policies.
The minister highlighted that her ministry is working to enhance coordination with partners, primarily the European Union and the World Bank, to mobilise funds supporting the state's general budget for the implementation of the national structural reforms programme. Egypt received approximately €1bn from the European Union by the end of 2024. Al-Mashat said the ministry is intensifying efforts with development partners to complete the second phase of the macroeconomic support mechanism and budget support, valued at €4bn, which will see the implementation of numerous structural reform measures to enhance fiscal policy control, stimulate the investment environment, and establish macroeconomic stability.
Al-Mashat continued that, as part of advancing the reform process and achieving the transition to Egypt's new developmental economic model, the ministry is preparing the National Narrative for Economic Development. This executive plan aims to achieve alignment between the government programme and Egypt Vision 2030, setting clear targets that reflect governmental ambitions and are consistent with current global economic changes.
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