The delegation was led by Roberto Sifon-Arévalo, S&P’s Head of Sovereigns and International Public Finance Ratings, along with Benjamin Young, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign Ratings Sector for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Ravi Bhatia, Director of Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings.
Al-Mashat said Egypt’s GDP grew by 4.2 percent in the first nine months of the 2024/2025 fiscal year ending in June, up from 2.4 percent in the same period a year earlier, driven by reforms rolled out in March 2024.
She cited non-oil manufacturing, exports, information and communications technology (ICT), and tourism as key growth sectors, adding that preliminary figures suggest full-year growth exceeded expectations.
Private investment rose 24.2 percent year-on-year in the third quarter to EGP 142.8 billion, with the private sector accounting for nearly 63 percent of total implemented investments (excluding inventories) for the third consecutive quarter, outpacing public investment.
Al-Mashat told the delegation the government is pushing structural reforms to maintain macroeconomic stability, improve the investment climate, advance Egypt’s green transition, and reduce external debt.
She said Egypt is positioning itself as a regional hub for development financing to support both local and foreign private sector projects.
She also outlined the recently launched Narrative for Economic Development framework, which aligns the government’s 2024/25–2026/27 programme with Egypt Vision 2030 to channel investment into high-productivity sectors, leverage upgraded infrastructure, and expand private sector participation.
For the first time, Egypt will introduce a three-year economic and social development plan starting in FY 2026/2027, she added, under the executive regulations of the State’s General Planning Law and within a medium-term budget framework.
Separately, the S&P delegation met Egypt’s Minister of Investment and External Trade Hassan El-Khatib, who briefed them on efforts to improve Egypt’s business environment and climb into the top 50 economies in the World Bank’s upcoming 2026 Business Ready (B-READY) index.
In April, S&P affirmed Egypt’s ‘B-/B’ long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings while revising its outlook to stable from positive.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is expected in Cairo in the coming weeks for the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt’s $8 billion Extended Fund Facility loan, alongside the first review of its $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) programme.
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