Egypt approves FY2020/21 draft budget, targets 6.3% deficit decline

Egypt’s cabinet has initially approved the FY2020/2021 draft budget. It aims at maintaining the country’s financial stability and boosting economic activities.

The new budget draft would reach targets through curbing the budget deficit to 6.3 percent from the GDP, in addition to attaining an initial surplus that will help reduce state debts.

It also targets boosting and stimulating growth and operations, especially in the productive sectors, along with infrastructure improvement efforts.

The new draft budget adopts specific initiatives and procedures seeks to improve citizens’ living conditions, including medium-income classes, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait noted.

Moreover, it focuses on expanding further in adjusting commodities and services prices, expanding the tax base, and making use of state asset revenues through increasing surpluses transferred to the state treasury.

FY2020/2021 raft budget set to reduce public debt to GDP ratio to 82.7 percent by the end of June 2021, which requires attaining a two percent initial surplus from GDP in 2020/2021.