Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly affirmed that the government will continue implementing its national economic reform program while maintaining a balance between macroeconomic stability and strengthening social protection, in a manner that helps improve citizens’ living standards and enhances the Egyptian economy’s ability to withstand regional and global developments, as well as the negative repercussions of escalating events in the region.
Madbouly made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the Ministerial Economic Group on Monday, September 7, 2026, at the government headquarters in the New Capital to discuss a number of priority economic issues and files during the current phase. The meeting was attended by Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Hassan Abdullah, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Sherif Farouq, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem, and a number of officials from the relevant ministries and the CBE.
In this context, Madbouly stressed that the government is also working to achieve sustainable, private sector-led growth in implementation of the State Ownership Policy Document, while accelerating its IPO and asset-offering program and continuing efforts to improve the business environment.
These measures aim to attract more domestic and foreign investment, increase growth and employment rates, and enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. The meeting reviewed a number of issues and files on its agenda, including the performance of the balance of payments during fiscal year 2025/2026, developments related to Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements with the European Union, and the latest developments in the economic reform program being implemented by the government and the CBE in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in addition to other priority issues during the current period.
In this regard, the meeting discussed a report on the performance of the balance of payments from July through March of fiscal year 2025/2026. The report noted an improvement in Egypt’s overall balance-of-payments position during the period, with the deficit narrowing to about dlrs 1.8 billion, compared with around dlrs 1.9 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The report also noted a significant increase in remittances from Egyptians working abroad, while foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rose by approximately one-third during the first nine months of fiscal year 2025/2026. This provided substantial support for foreign-currency resources and contributed to narrowing the balance-of-payments deficit.
The improvement in the balance of payments was also supported by higher tourism revenues, driven by an increase in visitor numbers, expanded hotel capacity and higher average tourist spending, in addition to increased petroleum and non-petroleum merchandise exports.
The meeting also reviewed the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement with the European Union, including the origins of the investment-facilitation concept, which emerged through the World Trade Organization’s Investment Facilitation for Development initiative, as well as the relevant agreement with the European Union and efforts to update bilateral investment agreements with EU member states.