Egypt’s economy expanded by 5.1% during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, with full-year growth expected to reach between 4.9% and 5%, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom said during a meeting with members of the Coordination of Youth Parties and Politicians (CPYP).

Rostom said growth is projected to accelerate to between 5.2% and 5.4% in the next fiscal year, supported by structural reforms, stronger public investment governance and expanded private-sector participation.

The meeting was held to mark the eighth anniversary of the CPYP and was attended by MP Akmal Nagaty, Coordinator of the CPYP Parliamentary Bloc in the House of Representatives, Mohamed Azmy, Deputy General Rapporteur of the Coordination, and several members of the House of Representatives and Senate.

Rostom said the government remains committed to maintaining dialogue with different political forces and engaging society on developments in the Egyptian economy, while exploring innovative solutions to challenges facing sustainable development.

He reviewed the latest macroeconomic indicators and the results of structural reforms, noting that ongoing coordination among government entities is aimed at accelerating the implementation of Egypt Vision 2030 targets.

The minister said the new fiscal year’s economic and social development plan was prepared amid heightened regional and global uncertainty. The government, he added, has increased investments in human development sectors, particularly healthcare, education and capacity building, while taking measures to limit the impact of global supply chain disruptions on the prices of essential goods.

Rostom highlighted the ministry’s partnership with civil society, pointing to the “Sharek” digital platform and the “Citizen’s Plan,” which allow citizens to follow ongoing development projects. He also referred to participatory budgeting mechanisms implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance to involve local administrations in setting development priorities across governorates.

He said Egypt had addressed successive crises since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 through data-driven and evidence-based policies, helping strengthen the economy’s resilience and make better use of capacity across productive sectors.

The government is also coordinating fiscal and monetary policy to develop proactive scenarios for containing inflation, while expanding local manufacturing and import substitution, Rostom said.

He added that public investment governance efforts focus on prioritising projects nearing completion to enable them to enter service quickly, while creating more space for domestic and foreign private-sector participation in the economy.

The meeting also addressed entrepreneurship support. Rostom referred to the role of the Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Hussein Eissa, in preparing an executive programme and institutional framework to support the knowledge economy and innovation.

On digital transformation, the minister said the ministry had made significant progress in electronically linking the systems of the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Finance and the National Investment Bank. The integration is expected to improve the efficiency of public spending, in line with Egypt’s plans to expand data centres and support the digital and green economy.

He added that new phases of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects are also being launched.