Egyptian finance minister sees ‘promising’ future for economy

Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Galal Egypt’s new Finance Minister Ahmed Galal said the government realises the amount of ?challenges and issues currently facing Egyptian society .
Financial discipline and achieving a balanced economy to create more job opportunities were at the top of his to-do list, the official added.
In a press release on Thursday, he explained that the current government is a transition government, not a caretaker government, ?therefore it seeks to make appropriate decisions to achieve goals that are in the best interests of the country.
“We need time to read and study the issues on the ground in order to reach correct ?decisions that would pave the way and lay the groundwork for future governments.”?
Galal added: “Despite Egypt facing real issues, the future of the economy is promising?. We want an agreement between all the political parties because Egypt is for all Egyptians, and ?the public interest is above all interests.”?
Before accepting the position of finance minister, Galal was managing director of the Cairo-based Economic Research Forum since 2007 and for 18 years a researcher at the World Bank.
Galal highlighted the need to activate the ?economy in order to create more jobs, achieve social justice and making sure all aspects of society benefit from any economic ?growth particularly low income citizens.?
Furthermore he emphasised the importance of rationalising public expenditure in order to control any increase ?in public debt and the deficit in the public budget, which are the main reasons for the ?increase in prices and the inflation.
Finally he called upon officials working in the finance ministry to draft proposals and come up with creative solutions to limit the budget deficit, increase public revenue, rationalise expenditure as well a finding new alternative ways to decrease the burden of public debt.