Egypt succeeds in significantly decreasing budget deficit

Egypt has succeeded in significantly lowering the budget deficit due to the adopted economic reform polices, especially in taxes and energy sector, said International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Mission Chief in Egypt on Thursday.

Christopher Jarvis's remarks came after his five-day visit to Egypt.

He said Egypt has witnessed an economic development since the last visit by the mission in November.

Jarvis said the start of carrying out some projects, announced at Sharm el Sheikh economic conference in March, the inauguration of the new Suez Canal and the exploration of a mega natural gas field would shore up the economic outlooks in the medium term.

Growth rate in Egypt hit 4.2 percent in 2014/015, Jarvis said, noting the inflation rate has dropped and the financial safety indices proved the health of the banking sector.

He said Cairo is on its track to increase its expenditures on the social solidarity programs and the infrastructure.

But he said unemployment rate is still high among young people.

The mission welcomed the Egyptian government's efforts to adopt financial and structural reforms aimed at lowering the public debt and encouraging borrowing by the private sector.

The mission met during its visit with Finance Minister Hani Qadri, governor of the Egyptian Central Bank Hisham Ramez, and other banking and private sector officials.