Finance Minister Mohamed Maait has said the government's economic reforms during the next phase will focus on enhancing the institutional framework, supporting the current growth path, reducing public debt and cutting inflation rates to single digits.

 

Delivering a speech at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Washington on Sunday, Maait said that the government had adopted a new package of incentives to increase exports, and developed a new system for industrial land, in addition to introducing a simplified and attractive taxation regime to back small and medium-sized enterprises.

 

The government will also work on automating all public services, and on enhancing human development and social protection by raising spending on health and education and honing the skills of workforce, especially young people and women, he noted.

 

Maait stressed that the government will proceed with the economic reform programme to increase the competitiveness of the country's economy, focusing on the sectors of manufacturing and exports and on providing more investment opportunities to the private sector.

 

He stressed the pivotal role played by the private sector in bolstering economic growth, citing the recent legislative reforms taken by the government to create a more conducive business environment.

 

He underlined that the economic reform programme has borne fruit, as the country's economy saw a growth rate of 5.6 percent in the past fiscal year.

 

He predicted that the national economy will register a growth rate of 6 percent in the fiscal year 2019/20, especially in light of an expected increase in private consumption and the private sector's investments, in addition to the significant recovery of the tourism sector and the operation of newly discovered gas fields.