President El Sisi Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: Re-Engineering Egypt’s Economy
In an opinion piece published in today’s Wall Street Journal, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi provided an update on Egypt’s political and economic progress and outlined the government’s plan for future growth and democratic advancement, particularly with parliamentary elections coming in October and November. Published in conjunction with President El Sisi’s attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the piece gives an optimistic but realistic assessment of both the progress thus far in Egypt and the challenges that still remain.
Below are several excerpts from the op-ed as well as the full text, which can also be found here.
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Economic Approach
“What the government is planning entails nothing less than the re-engineering of Egypt’s entire economic apparatus. An economy that has for too long underused its natural and human resources is being restructured so that it can reach its full potential. At the same time, lessons learned from Egypt’s last economic boom, during the mid-2000s, are being applied to ensure the political durability of the economic reforms. We aim to balance the objective of lowering government deficits against our commitment to promote social justice. This means to ensure that growth this time around will benefit all Egyptians, and not just a few.”
Economic Growth
“While it is still in its early days, the economy’s initial response to the government’s policy initiatives has been promising. Growth is estimated to have reached 4.2% in our last fiscal year, which ended in June, following several years of annual growth hovering at only 2%.”
Tough Decisions, Positive Change
“Over the past year and several months, we have delivered much of what we committed to do, against long odds. There was considerable pressure on the government to adopt a populist economic approach, and many fears that reducing government deficits would nip a budding economic recovery before it has a chance to flourish. But we were willing to make the tough decisions and to forge ahead with the long-overdue and contentious reforms that prior governments had known were necessary but did not carry out.”
Political Challenges and Opportunities
“I do not discount the political and structural challenges with which we have been wrestling and that still lie ahead. And I look forward to the contributions that Parliament will soon make in rebuilding Egypt, crafting new laws to foster the country’s path toward development and greater shared prosperity, and monitoring the government’s performance and representing the interest of the people.”
Need for Continued Reform
‘’Transition is never easy. Creating a new model of economic growth inevitably generates resistance from some groups. Nonetheless … we know that it is essential to deepen the reform effort. If we do not do so, we risk losing the credibility and confidence that we have earned to date—and we will cheat the Egyptians of the brighter future that they deserve.”
Transition is never easy. Creating a new model of economic growth inevitably generates resistance from some groups. Nonetheless… we know that it is essential to deepen the reform effort. If we do not do so, we risk losing the credibility and confidence that we have earned to date—and we will cheat the Egyptians of the brighter future that they deserve.”
