Photo: The spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency official facebook page
The meeting brought together Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla, and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk, according to a statement from the presidency.
Discussions focused on coordination between monetary and fiscal policy to sustain recent improvements in key indicators, including inflation, foreign reserves, and budget performance. El-Sisi stressed the need to secure funding for priority sectors, support domestic production and employment, and improve the business climate.
Officials also reviewed steps to keep inflation on a downward path, including tighter market monitoring and measures to boost the availability of essential goods and stabilize prices.
Headline inflation fell by 0.2 percent in November, driven by sharp declines in food prices, particularly vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products, according to official data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Some non-food items recorded price increases during the month.
The meeting also addressed Egypt’s foreign reserve position. Net international reserves (NRIs) rose to $50.2 billion at the end of November, up 6.2 percent since the start of the year, the presidency said. Reserves increased by about $145 million from October.
Fiscal policy was another focus, with officials reviewing progress toward achieving a primary budget surplus and lowering public debt ratios. Egypt is seeking to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio to 40 percent or below by the end of the 2025/26 fiscal year, down from around 44 percent currently.
Madbouly said last week the government plans to meet that target through tighter fiscal discipline, debt-for-investment swaps, and debt-for-development agreements, aimed at easing pressure on external financing needs.
El-Sisi called for faster action to improve the structure and servicing costs of public debt, urging closer coordination among state institutions to free up resources for social services and human development.
The review comes as Egypt remains in talks with the IMF over the fifth and sixth reviews of its $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, alongside the first review of a $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) loan.
An IMF mission that concluded its visit to Cairo earlier this month said Egypt’s economic policies had become more consistent and transparent, noting that recent reforms had delivered faster-than-expected improvements in key indicators. Negotiations are ongoing, with the reviews expected to be completed before the end of the year.
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