During talks with the International Monetary Fund in Washington on April 16, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait predicted that Egypt’s economy would grow by 2.8% in the current year and 4.2% in 2024/25. Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed, however, had earlier stated that the country’s economy would grow by 2.9% or 3% in the financial year ending in June, before accelerating to 4.2% in 2024/25. The growth is expected to come from investment spending, net exports and imports, and consumer spending, as stated in a ministry statement released on Sunday.
Egypt’s economy had previously been held back by a lack of foreign currency. This issue has been somewhat alleviated by a $24 billion real estate deal with the United Arab Emirates in late February, along with a significant devaluation of the currency. Additionally, Egypt signed an $8 billion agreement with the IMF in early March. Despite these measures, the central bank reported on May 23 that growth had slowed to 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 4.2% a year earlier. The bank also indicated that growth was expected to remain subdued in the first quarter of 2024 due to various factors including political instability and social unrest which affected tourism industry negatively leading to lower revenue for country’s economy.
