4.5 per cent growth
Egypt’s economic growth may reach an annualised rate of 4.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2009, but it was still too early to say the economy had turned a corner, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said. “The outlook is not as bleak as we thought,” he said. Egypt’s growth had already risen from 4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, he said. “That’s a good sign, but we need to see another quarter where the growth grows more to be able to say we have turned the corner,” Boutros-Ghali said. Analysts say Egypt’s financial system is flush with cash helping ride out a global crunch in credit. But the downturn in the world economy has hurt key earners such as tourism, Suez Canal receipts, oil and gas export revenues and remittances from workers.
Trade with US
US and Egyptian officials have signed agreements aimed at strengthening trade and investment links between the two nations, a move that came one week ahead of President Obama’s visit to Egypt. In advance of Obama’s visit, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Rashid Mohamed Rashid signed an agreement to develop a framework within 90 days for cooperating on trade and investment matters. Egypt has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Council on Competitiveness, a private US organisation, intended to foster partnerships in areas such as agriculture, consumer goods, shipping, and technology. Council on Competitiveness President Deborah Wince-Smith suggested the alliance might look at ways to revamp economic statistics, saying that “we’re not telling the whole story” about the value of premium products, including Egyptian cotton.
Peacekeeping regional centre
In response to an Egyptian initiative, the International Consultative Conference for peace-building in Africa recommended establishing an African regional centre in Cairo. The centre will be specialised in peace-building operations in Africa with funding from the United Nations and major donor countries. At Cairo Regional Centre for Training a national workshop on “the process of building peace in Africa… the challenges and risks” was concluded with the participation of State senior representatives, UN peace-building office and representatives of the National Council for Women, NGOs in addition to the media, the Japanese Embassy in Cairo and the African Union.
Guest at Marathon
Egypt’s bustling cities of Cairo and Alexandria will be the guests of honor of France’s 2009 Marathon des Mots festival, to be hosted by Toulouse on 11-14 June. The choice was announced at a news conference held by the festival organisers and attended by Egyptian Ambassador to France. A symposium on the Egyptian cinema will be held with the participation of Egyptian international actor Omar Sharif.