The president also ordered raising the minimum wage for those government employees who hold a Master's degree to be EGP 6,000 and for those who hold a PhD to EGP 7,000.

The minimum wage for government employees was last raised in October 2022 from EGP 2,700 to EGP 3,000.

President El-Sisi also announced raising tax exemptions from EGP 24,000 to EGP 30,000 annually, effective 1 April.

He also announced raising Takaful and Karama benefits for the neediest citizens by 25 percent, effective 1 April.

"This social package is meant to alleviate the ramifications of the global economic circumstances, El-Sisi said during an event in Minya to honour outstanding Egyptians as part of his tour of Decent Life projects in the Upper Egypt governorate.

"The economic reform program that the government started to implement since 2016 has cushioned the economy against some of the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war and the coronavirus pandemic before that," the president added.

The president said that the Russian-Ukrainian war, which erupted over a year ago, has had double the impact on the global economy which had not yet recovered from similar effects caused by the coroanavirus pandemic.

Egypt, like other countries, was impacted by the rise in energy and food prices and the disruption of global supply chains as a result of the war, he added.

The president stressed, however, that the economic reforms implemented by the state since 2016, and the steps the state took to maximize its assets and develop the infrastructure, and the social protection schemes have  all contributed significantly to cushioning the blow of the global crisis on the country.

The state has also developed its economic plan to localise industries, reduce the import gap, expand self-sufficiency in food, and shift to attract foreign investments, he added.

"Throughout a decade we have managed to overcome crises and challenges together … our will has not been sapped by challenges or campaigns of skepticism or broken by terrorism," the president stressed.