Egypt’s Economy Is Strong and Has Room to Grow, Says Finance Minister

Jun 13, 2025 at 5:20 AM

Egypt’s Economy Is Strong and Has Room to Grow, Says Finance Minister

Egypt’s Finance Minister, Ahmed Kouchouk, said he is confident about the country’s economic future. He noted that things are steadily getting better and there are good signs of long-term growth.

He also highlighted how important the private sector is. In the past ten months, private companies made about 60% of all investments, showing they are playing a bigger role in driving Egypt’s economy forward.

Strong Financial Results Despite Challenges

Minister Kouchouk described Egypt’s financial performance as “very strong and ambitious.” He said the government is staying on track with its economic reforms. From July to May in the 2024–25 financial year, Egypt achieved a primary budget surplus of 3.1% of its GDP — the highest since 2005 — even though income from the Suez Canal and energy sectors dropped.

Despite losing $2.22 billion (EGP 110 billion) in Suez Canal revenues and $3.03 billion (EGP 150 billion) in the energy sector, the government is still focused on reaching its financial goals and managing the budget responsibly.

Tax income has also gone up significantly — by 38% — without putting extra pressure on citizens. This shows that the government’s financial policies are working well while still supporting the public.

External Debt Going Down

Egypt has also reduced its external debt by $2 billion over the past ten months. Minister Kouchouk said the average time to repay this debt has increased to 1.8 years as of December 2024. This improvement is partly due to growing confidence from foreign investors.

In addition, money sent home by Egyptians living abroad rose sharply — by 82.7% — reaching $26.4 billion between July and March.

Growth in Key Sectors

The Minister also highlighted strong growth in several areas during the first half of the 2024–25 fiscal year. These include tourism, non-oil manufacturing, and the communications and IT sectors.

Government spending also increased:

Healthcare: up 27%
Education: up 23%
Food support: $1.92 billion (EGP 95 billion), up 37%
Social programs (Takaful and Karama): $606.2 million (EGP 30 billion), up 24%
Free medical treatment: $222.2 million (EGP 11 billion), up 35%
Industrial support: $161.6 million (EGP 8 billion), up 128%
Support for exporters: $303.4 million (EGP 15 billion)