Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, directed the government to maintain the positive performance of the state budget in order to achieve a primary surplus of 1.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

El-Sisi also stressed the importance of slashing the overall budget deficit to reach 6.7% and cutting debt to less than 90% of GDP, according to a statement on Monday. 

This came during a meeting between El-Sisi, the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. 

The indicators for the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2021/2022 were all positive with the expenditures rising for various government investments, especially the Haya Karima (A Decent Life) initiative, Maait said.