He also noted that the initial budget surplus recorded 2.5 percent before adding the proceeds of Ras El-Hekma. However, after adding them, it recorded 6.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the total deficit reached 3.6 percent after adding the Ras El-Hekma proceeds.

“The Ministry of Finance focuses on three main pillars. The first is how to sustain the tax results while achieving a partnership with the business community at the same time. The second focuses on fiscal policy and how it will effectively contribute to development and economic circumstances. The third is to guarantee that the debt and debt services are on the path to retreat,” Kouchouk stated.

In July, the minister said the role of the local and foreign private sectors in the Egyptian economy is a main priority in the new government's agenda.

Moreover, he clarified that the tax authority achieved 108 percent of the target in the budget during FY2023/2024 despite all challenges.

“We did not implement new taxes and what was achieved in tax earnings marking a 30 percent increase was spent on health, education, and social protection programmes,” Kouchouk added.

Furthermore, he explained that the earnings growth rate reached 60 percent, which exceeds the expenditures growth rate.

Additionally, non-tax revenues increased by 190 percent due to the diverse country's sources and because the treasury got 50 percent of the Ras El-Hekma deal.

He added that priorities will be rearranged so that public expenditure can be more considerate of the social dimension to encompass the effects of economic reforms. This will happen through a 25 percent increase in education expenditure, a 24 percent rise in health expenditure, and a 20 percent increase in social protection expenditure.

The social support and protection allocations were more than doubled, reaching EGP 550 billion, compared to 2020/2021.

“The subsidies for basic commodities increased to reach EGP 133 billion, up from EGP 121 billion, marking approximately a 10 percent increase,” Kouchouk clarified.

In addition, he noted that the subsidies for petroleum products exceeded EGP 165 billion, and the pensions for “Takaful & Karama” exceeded EGP 35 billion.

“We paid back the dues of the social insurance fund at EGP 185 billion, with the total of what we paid to reach EGP 913.2 billion by the end of June,” stated Kouchouk.

The minister also highlighted that the debt service bill is still high because of the rise in inflation rate and interest rates, adding that the target is to decrease it to 35 percent of the total expenditures in the medium term.

"We will continue the investment support initiatives and promoting economic activities despite the global, regional, and local challenges," he affirmed.

Kouchouk explained that EGP 11 billion was allocated to support industrial production in Egypt, up from only EGP 1 billion. Moreover, EGP 12.9 billion was allocated to the stimulation of exports. The total value of export support dispersed from the budget to the advantage of more than 3,000 companies since October 2019 has reached EGP 65 billion.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced the completion of the third review of its $8 billion loan programme for Egypt, stressing that the country has met all its requirements.

Accordingly, Egypt has received a tranche of $820 million, bringing the total amount since the programme began in December 2022 to $1.6 billion.

The loan programme, recently raised from $3 to $8 billion, includes measures meant to put the Egyptian economy on a corrective trajectory amid the severe repercussions of global and regional tensions that have negatively affected the country's economy.