Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour expects Egypt’s economic growth rate in 2018 to be “good” at around 5%, higher than previously expected. The reform program adopted by Egypt achieved positive results in its first year, Azour said on the sidelines of “Opportunity for All: Promoting Growth, Jobs, and Inclusiveness in the Arab World,” conference held in Morocco on Tuesday. Azour noted that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) succeeded in taking measures that contributed to the gradual reduction of inflation. He expected that there will be a bigger decrease in the budget deficit this year compared to last year. He stressed the importance of Egypt restoring its significant economic role in the region in order to benefit from the improvement in the global economy by increasing export growth and attracting more investments.

Source: Egypt Independent January 30, 2018 09:33 UTC