The private sector should make up at least 65 – 70 per cent of Egypt's economy, said Finance Minister Mohamed Maait during a panel discussion in Washington on Wednesday. Speaking at of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Governor Talks series "Egypt: Lessons in Restoring Macroeconomic Stability", Minister Maait said the government had put a limit of 1 trillion Egyptian pounds ($20.6 billion) on all public investment, including that of the military. "Giving the main role to the private sector to lead the country is in the benefit of the state. Why? Because we have close to 1 million young people coming to the labour market looking for jobs every year," the Egyptian minister told Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department. "Who will be able to create that? The government cannot create more than 100,000 new jobs." he added. "An economy led by the private sector can create 900,000 — even more — jobs, but we have to give them the opportunity." Minister Maait also said the government seeks to sell more state assets, which would reduce the state's role in the economy, allow the private sector more ownership, increase productivity, and generate revenue to reduce Egypt's debt. The government is implementing a comprehensive economic agenda to put the Egyptian economy on the right path under a new holistic structural reform approach, the minister added. The recently-reached Ras El Hekma agreement signifies the resilience and attractiveness of the Egyptian economy to witness more foreign inflows, given the distinguished investment opportunities the country offers key economic sectors, Minister Maait stated.
