President Mohamed Morsy is seeking to attract foreign investments to bolster the economy and create job opportunities, presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said Monday.
Ali said Morsy has sought to focus on economic issues during all of his foreign visits.
The local economy has suffered in the aftermath of the 25 January revolution, which ousted former President Hosni Mubarak, and the ensuing turmoil caused investors and tourists to leave the country.
Last month, the government said the country’s unemployment rate is 13 percent, and that it is seeking to reduce it to 9.5 percent by 2017 and to 6 percent by 2022.
Ali said Egypt needs to achieve a level of economic growth that ranges between 6 percent and 7 percent, compared with last year’s growth rate of only 2 percent.
Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said this week that the government is seeking to create 700,000 job opportunities annually to keep the current unemployment rate at the same level.
Ali said one-third of the state budget goes to subsidies, which he said need to be reviewed to reach their target beneficiaries.
In the budget for the current fiscal year, the total subsidies are estimated at LE145 billion, while the total budget is LE533.7 billion. The budget deficit is estimated at LE135 billion.
The government is working day and night to finance the budget deficit to revitalize the economy, Ali said.
