Egypt’s budget deficit for the first quarter of the 2018-2019 fiscal year starting in July was slightly down to 1.9 percent from 2 percent last year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said.
Egypt has been looking to tighten control of its finances as it pushes ahead with ambitious economic reforms tied to a $12 billion three-year International Monetary Fund lending program it agreed in late 2016.
Maait said in a statement on Tuesday that the Egyptian government is keen on attracting investors through a new infrastructure, the implementation of projects in renewable energy and the improvement of the electricity network.
Such steps would remove obstacles facing investors and would encourage them to increase their investments in Egypt, said the minister.
Egypt plans to attract $11 billion in foreign direct investment in the current fiscal year, up from $7.9 billion the year before.
The government, under a medium-term development plan to 2022, also hopes to create about 750,000 jobs in the current fiscal year which ends in June 2019.
