In a recent session before the Egyptian Parliament, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, outlined the government’s strategic economic targets for the fiscal year 2025/2026. These measures, which focus on financial and monetary policy adjustments and enhancing public investment governance, have significantly contributed to the improvement of Egypt’s economic performance.
Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted the improvement in key economic indicators, which has been driven by the government’s commitment to stabilizing the economy. Notably, Egypt’s growth rate increased from 3.5% to 4.3% during the first half of the fiscal year 2024/2025, with projected growth of 4.1% in Q3 and 4.2% in Q4. This will bring the overall growth rate to 4% by the end of FY 2024/2025. This economic expansion has been largely driven by the recovery in manufacturing, excluding the oil sector, as well as the growth in tourism and the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
Foreign exchange reserves also saw a significant boost, rising by 34% to reach $47.4 billion by February 2025, compared to $35.3 billion in February 2024. Additionally, Egypt’s tourism sector experienced a notable uptick in revenue, reaching $4.8 billion in Q1 of FY 2024/2025, up from $4.5 billion in the same period the previous year. Similarly, the rate of decline in Suez Canal revenues, which had reached 63% in October 2024, slowed down to 23.8% by February 2025.
One of the government’s key achievements in recent months has been successfully managing inflation, which showed a downward trend in March 2025 due to base effects. The government has also focused on keeping energy prices in line with global developments while addressing local production costs. Remittances from Egyptians working abroad rose significantly, reaching $17.1 billion in the first half of FY 2024/2025, compared to $9.4 billion in the same period of FY 2023/2024. Furthermore, foreign direct investment (FDI) surged from $10 billion in FY 2023/2024 to $46.1 billion in FY 2024/2025.
During the session, Dr. Al-Mashat presented the government’s ambitious targets for FY 2025/2026. She outlined that the economic growth rate will reach 4.5% in FY 2025/2026, marking a significant recovery from the 2.4% growth recorded in FY 2023/2024, which was heavily impacted by global and geopolitical crises. The Minister emphasized that this growth target reflects the government’s efforts to continue its recovery from the effects of these challenges.
Regarding the national economy’s size, Dr. Al-Mashat projected that Egypt’s GDP would increase to 9.1 trillion pounds at constant prices by FY 2025/2026, reaching approximately 20.4 trillion pounds at current prices. This represents an 18% increase from the estimated 17.3 trillion pounds in FY 2024/2025. The sources of economic growth are expected to be well-balanced, with final consumption expenditure contributing 27%, investment expenditure contributing 37%, and net exports accounting for 36% of the overall growth rate.
Dr. Al-Mashat also discussed the sectoral contributions to Egypt’s GDP for FY 2025/2026. She pointed out that key sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, transportation, and social services would play pivotal roles in driving economic growth due to their large share in the economy and the expansion of their activities. These sectors will be crucial in ensuring rapid and sustainable growth, in line with the priorities outlined in the government’s development plan.
A significant highlight of the plan for FY 2025/2026 is the projected increase in total investments, which are expected to reach 3.5 trillion pounds—an increase from the 2.6 trillion pounds expected for FY 2024/2025 and the 1.8 trillion pounds achieved in FY 2023/2024. This increase underscores the government’s belief in the pivotal role that investment plays as a key driver of economic growth.
Private investments are expected to rise substantially, reaching 1.94 trillion pounds, which would account for 62.7% of the total investments. This increase reflects the government’s commitment to supporting the private sector and ensuring a competitive and transparent investment environment. Public investments are targeted at EGP 1.16 trillion, an increase from EGP 1 trillion expected for FY 2024/2025. This allocation reflects the government’s focus on fiscal discipline while ensuring that public investments continue to contribute to national development.
Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that the increase in investments will be accompanied by efforts to improve the efficiency of both public and private investments. The government will ensure optimal resource allocation and strengthen monitoring mechanisms to ensure that investments are aligned with the national development goals. This will include monitoring the impact of public investments on Egypt’s international rankings, with a particular focus on sustainability and the green economy.
Finally, Dr. Al-Mashat reaffirmed that Egypt’s development strategy aligns with the long-term objectives outlined in Egypt’s Vision 2030.
