Egyptian Planning Minister Hala al-Saeed said on Sunday that the government is targeting a growth rate of around 5 percent for the 2017-18 fiscal year, state news agency MENA reported. Speaking at a news conference, Saeed said Egypt is also looking to boost its growth rate from about 4 percent currently to between 6-6.5 percent in 2020.
The growth rate for the second quarter of the 2016-17 fiscal year slowed to 3.8 percent from 4 percent during the same period last year, she added, attributing the fall to a decline in consumption and a rise in price of imports due to Egypt's floating of its pound currency in November.
Last year, the ministry had reported the second quarter figure as 3.8 percent, however.