At a Wednesday press conference, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin declared that the fate of his ministry was "entirely in the hands of President Mubarak.”
Last week, Mohieldin was nominated for the position of bank manager at the World Bank (WB), a position directly under that of WB vice president. It remains unclear until now who will replace Egypt's first-ever minister of investment.
“My term at the WB will be for four years, after which I will resume my political career,” Mohieldin said.
“I have three homes to return to when I finish my term,” he added, referring to his family home, the ruling National Democratic Party and Cairo University, where he has a teaching position.
Mohieldin went on to note that, in government circles, the term “poverty” had only come into vogue in 2003. “Before that, we used to use euphemisms like 'low-income' groups,” he said.
The minister added that countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia had succeeded in reducing their relative poverty rates by as much as three percent. “We have a lot to do if we want to bring our poverty rate down,” he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
