(Ecofin Agency) - Despite the economic challenges posed by covid-19 and international inflationary pressures exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Egypt’s economy is proving resilient. The results are essentially due to reforms undertaken by authorities in the past few years.  

 In the first semester of the FY2021-2022 which started on July 1, 2021, Egypt grew by 9% against 1.3% during the same period in FY2020-2021. The growth was estimated in a press release issued, Tuesday (April 19), by the Presidency. 

According to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, it was the highest growth recorded in more than twenty years. 

The said release also forecasts growth in the second semester to be around 6%. “It exceeds previous economic forecasts by various international institutions,” it comments.

The performance is the result of Vision 2030, the government’s development strategy being implemented since 2016. It aims to "ensure coherence between its development ambitions and the UN sustainable development goals while integrating urgent issues such as  climate change, financial inclusion, the demographic issue, and water scarcity."

According to World Bank data, in FY2018-2019, Egypt recorded a 5.65% growth. In FY2019/2020, the growth decelerated to 3.6% and 3.3% in FY2020/2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic notably. 

It started rebounding in the fourth quarter of FY2020/2021 pushing to 7.7% after a 1.7% contraction during the same period a year earlier. 

Jean-Marc Gogbeu