El-Araby made his comments during his participation in the first day of Egypt’s Economic Conference, which kicked off on Sunday over three days. The conference was held under the auspices and in the presence of Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

The conference is meant to gather economists and experts to chart a map for the Egyptian economy amid the current local and global challenges.

El-Araby asserted the necessity of the independence of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to bolster the monetary policy tools in dealing with external and internal shocks.

He stressed that the Egyptian economy needs to be export- and investment-driven and not based on consumption. It should focus on attaining inclusive and sustainable growth that creates more job opportunities to address the impacts of the global economic challenges.

El-Araby called for improving the efficiency of public spending to record higher GDP growth rates, reconsidering the current economic policies, and maximising resource utilisation.

“Egypt also needs to swiftly finalise the new economic reform programme deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it is important for the local economy in the current phase. The delay in reaching a deal means a higher cost going forward,” El-Araby told conference attendees.

Egypt is currently in the final stages of securing a fresh loan from the IMF under a new economic reform programme.