Egypt criticises Bloomberg report on its ‘failing economy’

Egyptian Finance Minister Amr El-Garhy yesterday criticised a report in which Bloomberg claimed that a recently approved loan by the International Monetary Fund “will be lost in vain and that Egypt will use it for the same purposes it had used previous loans which do not serve the national economy interest.”

In an analysis published on Tuesday entitled “Egypt’s Failing Economy is Sisi’s Fault”, Bloomberg held the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi responsible for what it described as the economic failure experienced by the country.

“Much of the blame can be placed directly on Sisi, who squandered previous aid packages on mega-projects of dubious merit, including a huge expansion of the Suez Canal, leaving less to be spent on vital basic infrastructure,” the report said.

EL-Garhy told reporters that Egypt has a “vision for the future represented by clear economic programme aimed at achieving inclusive economic growth, and knows very well where the loan should be spent.”

He added that the state is keen on financing economic projects aimed at achieving sustainable economic growth.