IMF Loan Not On Current Government’s Agenda; Planning Minister

Planning Minister Ashraf el-Araby stressed that getting a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in not on the agenda of the incumbent government.

“The aid Egypt got from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE makes us in no need of borrowing from the IMF,” Arabi said in an interview with Al-Arabiya channel late on Wednesday18/12/2013.

The Gulf investments in Egypt are estimated at 50 billion dollars while the European ones are put at 45 billion dollars, he added.

“We need to lure foreign investments of 50 billion dollars to be able to promote our economy,” Arabi said.

The main and biggest challenge to the current and next governments is to provide 850,000 jobs annually, he added.

“The growth rate after the January 25th Revolution did not surmount 2 per cent and we really need the rate to hit 7 per cent to boost the national economy,” he said.

As of January, public sector employers will get a 1,200-pound salary as minimum, as part of the government’s plan to improve living conditions, he said, adding that negotiations are under way with business owners to set a minimum limit of wages in the private sector as well.

Source: All Africa