Budget Deficit, Unemployment Are Egypt’s Prominent Challenges: Osama Saleh

Osama Saleh, Minister of Investment, said the transitional period that the country lives is the most serious periods on the economic and political levels, therefore it needs the support of all sectors.  
During “MENA Project Finance &PPP” conference, which is organized by the ministry of finance, Osama Saleh added that the most eminent changes on the political level is the democratic transition that we live at the present time, especially after finishing the new constitution and the coming parliamentary elections. The conference is under the auspicious of the Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil, and attended by the ministers of finance and planning and international cooperation.
The minister referred to the several economic challenges that Egypt faces. The most eminent challenge is the budget deficit and the unemployment; explaining that the government will exert effort for setting short and middle solutions to face the budget deficit in the coming period; increasing investments will top. Some countries, Qatar and Turkey, have pledged to sustain Egypt, furthermore, the negotiations that the government had with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) to get $4.8 billion loan. All these factors give positive indicators for reviving the Egyptian economy.
He pointed out that the government has taken some procedures on the micro-economics, helped in improving some indicators, such as the increasing the growth rates, which should reach 4%-4.5%.
The private sector plays a prominent role in raising the investment flows, to seize 65% of total investments.
As for the inflation and cash reserve, the minister said the inflation gradually inched lower, compared to last year, in addition to the slight rise in the cash reserve of the hard currency to Egypt within the last months.