Developed countries offered up to $16 trillion incentives to face lockdown: Egypt’s Planning Minister

Egypt's Minister of Planning Hala El-Said said that the developed countries have offered around 16 trillion dollars in incentives to face lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic. El-Said’s remarks came on Monday during the inauguration of several national projects in Alexandria in the presence of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Since the end of 2021, several crises and shocks have caused instability in supply chains and increased prices, El-Said noted. The successive crises affected all countries of the world including Egypt, she said, adding that the crisis started with the closure of Covid 19 threat that was followed by the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. When the pandemic started, it caused a lockdown in several countries, she said. She added that when the Russian-Ukrainian crisis started, it led to instability in the supply chains and severe shortages of commodities.
El-Said said that 53% of the world exports of sunflower seeds are from Ukraine, 14% of the world exports of wheat are from Russia and Ukraine and 17% of the world production of gas is from Russia and Ukraine. According to Egypt's Planning Minister, the US, China, and Europe represent 50% of the world's production, adding that global growth rates will shrink and won't exceed 2.7%. She said that the whole world is expected to enter a state of stagnation. El-Said asserted that Egypt has taken several steps to face the crises and reduce their impact on citizens. There are three key indicators of the economic policy of the state. These include achieving sustainable economic growth, suitable levels of employment, and stability in the general level of prices, she added.
It is clear that Egypt has achieved an overall balance in economic policy indexes, she said. She pointed out that the average growth rate in 2021 was 7.1%, the employment rate reached 7.4%, and the average inflation rate was 5.2%. She said there are medium- and long-term plans to improve the Egyptian economy El-Said said that the Egyptian government has taken several measures to rationalize its expenses, adding that the state pumped some goods at reduced prices into the markets to reduce the impact of high prices. According to her, medium-term plans help the state deal with crises. The plans include achieving social justice via providing services in different areas of the country including schools, hospitals, and health units, El-Said added. The sectors targeted in the structural reform plan include localizing industry, increasing the productivity of the sector of information technology, and achieving food and water security, she said. 


El-Said asserted that the private sector is a main partner in the development process, pointing out the measures taken by the state to promote its role including the approval of the cabinet on the document of organization of state property, amending the partnership law with the private sector and activating some articles of the investment law related to the golden license. The state worked on increasing employment opportunities and handling the gap between the educational process's outcome and the work market's needs, she said. It is imperative for Egypt to continue to provide social protection in spite of all the challenges it is facing in the world, she said. She added that the state is increasing its investments in the fields of health and education. The Egyptian economy will achieve a 5% growth rate by the end of 2022, she said. This growth rate represents the level of production and employment in various industries, including agriculture, information technology, and tourism.