Egypt Reached 6.6% Growth Rate Before Ukrainian-Russian Crisis: Says Planning Minister

Egypt's minister of planning and economic development, Dr. Hala El-Said, said on Saturday that Egypt's growth rate was 6.6 before the crisis of Russia and Ukraine. 

 The speech of the Minister of Planning will be heard during a speech held at the conference "Story of a Homeland: Between Vision and Achievement” " which began at the Al-Massa Hotel on Saturday. 

 The conference was opened earlier today by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. 

  It includes several rounds and plenary sessions, where the achievements and projects of recent years and the challenges facing the country are thoroughly introduced.

 During the session, Dr. Hala El-Said gave an overview of the achievements of the Egyptian state over the past 9 years, the country's development efforts, and future vision in the light of unprecedented international and regional challenges. 

 El-Said referred to the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which the world has agreed to achieve by 2030. The most important of these are poverty reduction, hunger reduction, sustainable cities, clean energy, gender equality, and decent job opportunities.  

 El-Said said that Egypt was the first to adopt this development program when the president launched Egypt Vision 2030 in 2016, which had three main dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. 

 El-Said also drew attention to the international conditions and challenges that the world is currently experiencing, explaining that only 12 percent of the 17 Goals for Sustainable Development are on track. 

 Egypt's position in the Sustainable Development Goals Index; El-Said said that Egypt rose 6 places in 2023 and Egypt is among 26 countries committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

 

 

 

 

 El-Said emphasized efforts to document the government's efforts and deliver reports and data, including voluntary national reports, national reports to monitor the implementation of the African Agenda 2063, the publication of the first human development report in ten years, and local reports on sustainability goals at the level of the governorate.

El-Said explained that there is a large amount of data and indicators that are used in the preparation of plans, whether they are local or international indicators used by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the Institute for National Planning (INP), through the Ministry of Planning and Economy or other relevant ministries.  

Dr. Hala El-Said also added that to achieve all these goals and to achieve the quality of life of Egyptian citizens, it is necessary to boost public investment, which increased from EGP 110 billion in 2013-2014 to EGP 1 trillion and now EGP 50 billion.

 According to El-Said, investments at the local level also increased from EGP 8.2 billion to EGP 038 billion in the plan for the current year. 

 El-Said pointed out that the main goal of education in Egypt Vision 2030 is access and competitiveness, and stated that there are 103 universities organized in university education, of which a state university is organized at the level of each governorate. 

 

 Regarding early childhood education, significant investment has been made in recent years to create 120,000 classrooms. 

 El-Said pointed out that the country's goal is to reach the target vision of 35 children per class, but the growth of the population prevents this, so it must be done with the private sector.  

El-Said said the "Decent Life" initiative is the world's largest development project aimed at localizing sustainable development goals. She explained that the "Decent Life for Climate Resilient Africa" initiative was launched during COP27, based on the success of the "Decent Life" initiative.  

 

 El-Said explained that for the first time in Egypt, a minimum wage was established in the private sector to protect workers and achieve a balance between maintaining institutions and employment and protecting workers' rights. 

  Regarding increasing the efficiency of the institutions, El-Said referred to the automation of the planning system linked to the financial system in the Ministry of Finance and the State Investment Bank, which enables precise monitoring of projects and the investments allocated to them. 

 El-Said noted the launch of the planning tracking system "Adaa" and the national accounting system "Bayan" so that accurate GDP data can be obtained through direct transactions with ministries and automation. 

 Health offices and the vaccination system were also automated, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Utilities, 350 technology centers that provide 250 public services were automated at the district level. 

 

 

 El-Said also announced a partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the Interior to provide mobile technology centers to serve citizens. According to El-Said, 250 mobile centers have been reached and the goal is to reach 1000 mobile centers. 

 El-Said noted that under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Egyptian Government Award was given in the spirit of competition and to highlight success stories.  El-Said explained that many outstanding cadres in the civil service need motivation and encouragement, emphasizing that investing in people and building people is an important part of the vision of the Egyptian state. 

El-Said noted that the National Academy for Youth Training and Qualification through NIGSD has trained 120,000 people in leadership training in addition to training programs for women in collaboration with important local and international institutions that specialize in this field. 

 

  El-Said addressed the environmental dimension in the light of natural changes and disasters and explained that it is an important part of the country's vision, whether to fight against climate change, green change, or water shortage. She continued that 78 percent of the government's projects are aimed at curbing the effects of climate change. 

  El-Said referred to the green space of the investment plan and referred to the issuance of environmental sustainability standards at the national level, where 40% of government projects were green and the goal is to reach 50% within the next year. 

She added that this is the result of all the development efforts of the Egyptian state.  

Before the crisis in Russia and Ukraine, the achieved growth rate was 6.6 percent and the unemployment rate was the lowest at 7 percent, foreign direct investment reached $10 billion and cash holdings reached $34.9 billion.  

 

 El-Said explained that the world is facing unprecedented challenges due to successive global crises exacerbated by COVID-19, geopolitical crises, and climate change crises, forcing developing countries to spend at least 4 percent of their GDP on disaster reduction rather than focusing on mitigation and adaptation.  

 

 

 El-Said explained that these successive crises have caused many consequences, such as food shortages, price increases, energy crises, and disruptions in supply chains. 

  El-Said said that one factor exaggerating the scale of the crisis is that the United States, China, and Europe account for 50 percent of the world economy, and what is happening to them today will lead to a sharp decline in economic growth and world trade.

 

 El-Said added that due to these challenges, it is necessary to rethink the future of the Egyptian state and the Vision of Egypt 2030 and update the timeline as a living document to integrate local, international, and regional development while trying to make the Egyptian economy more resilient. Regarding the target growth numbers, El-Said explained that the goal is to achieve sustainable growth of at least 7-8% per year, taking into account the production structure and growth. 

Regarding the labor market, El-Said stated that the unemployment rate has reached 7% and there are challenges in the employment structure. 

 The unemployment of women is three times higher than the unemployment of men, in addition to the high unemployment of the highly educated, according to El-Said.

 El-Said emphasized the importance of flexibility and efficiency in the labor market, adding that in 2030 there is a risk of losing 83 million jobs and 69 million new jobs based on creativity, critical analysis, and technologies 

 El-Said said that the contemporary innovations include a movement towards increasing the participation of the private sector, explaining that the investment of the private sector reached 36 percent this year and that the goal of 2030 is to reach 65 percent.

 El-Said emphasized that the prospects include the structure of the Egyptian economy, the efficiency of the employment level, the flexibility of the labor market, and the continuation of capital investment in Egypt while managing population growth. participation of the private sector.  

 El-Said discussed the production structure and restructuring program, explaining that the focus is on industry, agriculture, communication, and information technology, whose relative weight in the economy will increase from 25 percent to 35 percent. 

 

 Regarding the logistics sector, El-Said pointed out that Egypt's competitive advantage as a global trade corridor and its geographical location, connecting it to ports, industrial cities, and transport networks, make Egypt a global trade center. 

 

 

 Regarding the specific perspective of the labor market, El-Said explained that for the first time, the supply side of the labor market is being looked at and pointed out that increasing the acceptance of technical education by 57 percent will increase the efficiency of the labor market by up to 65%.  

 El-Said explained that society's view of the labor market has always been a challenge.

 She emphasized the need to accredit technical schools with international accreditation and link them with the private sector to ensure decent job opportunities.  

El-Said highlighted the launch of the Forum on Professional Industrial Councils in addition to the National Wages Council and the Itqan platform in the development of an interdisciplinary joint learning system at the university level due to the need for a dynamic labor market. 

 

 Regarding continued investment in human capital at a time of increasing population growth, El-Said explained that Egypt jumped 19 places in the Human Development Report, despite the efforts of the United Nations International Report on the global decline of the index. 

 

 

 El-Said emphasized the need to double investments in education and health to benefit from the specifics of the population and pointed to the launch of the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family, which is integrated into the national population strategy. 

 El-Said noted that Egyptian women have gained unprecedented political influence in the recent period. She pointed out the importance of economic empowerment and job opportunities for women and added that equality of employment opportunities increases the gross domestic product by 34% according to countries that have achieved equality. 

 El-Said discussed the government's initiatives favoring the private sector, including the launch of the state document, the decisions of the Supreme Council on Investment, as well as the amendment of several laws, as well as the policy of competitive neutrality. and the establishment of the State Fund for Investment and Development of Egypt (TSFE). 

El-Said added that the country has taken many measures to increase the participation of the private sector, including the launch of a state ownership document, decisions of the Supreme Council of Investments, changes to some laws, and a policy of competitive neutrality apart from the establishment of TSFE. 

 El-Said pointed to the country's huge investments in infrastructure and public transport and the localization of strategic industries such as train manufacturing in collaboration with the private sector, the Ministry of Transport, and the Suez Canal Economic Authority. These industries are characterized by labor intensity and technology intensity.