Egypt's Sisi orders government to take financial and commodity precautions amid regional escalation

Egypt Today

4 hours ago

CAIRO – 22 June 2025: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ordered the government to take all necessary measures regarding all relevant financial and commodity precautions in light of ongoing developments and the escalating situation in the region, said the Egyptian Presidency in a statement after the US attacked Iranian unranuim enrchiment facilities in Iran.
President Sisi's comments were stated during a meeting with Prime MinisterDr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Minister of Finance, Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk, on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that American aircraft had conducted heavy airstrikes on several Iranian nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. 'A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,' Trump said.
President Sisi's meeting also reviewed the increasing volatility in global markets and the repercussions of geopolitical events, especially the war between Iran and Israel, on the rising state of uncertainty in major international markets, particularly shipping prices and some commodities.
Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, said the President was briefed on the outcomes of monitoring the utilization of the first tax facilitation initiative up to June 19, 2025.
The Minister of Finance indicated that the total number of voluntary tax dispute resolution requests submitted over the past months reached 110,000 requests.
He added that the number of amended or new tax declarations submitted by taxpayers reached more than 450,000 declarations, which reflects taxpayers' confidence in the tax facilitation initiative and their positive interaction.
These new and amended declarations included declaration for additional taxes totaling EGP 54.76 billion.
The Minister also pointed out that the number of taxpayers who applied to benefit from tax incentives and facilitations for projects with an annual turnover not exceeding EGP 20 million, in accordance with Law No. 6 of 2025, has reached 52,901 taxpayers.
The meeting also touched on the latest developments in the Ministry of Finance's plan for international issuances for the fiscal year 2024/2025, and the actions taken in this regard in line with the directives to reduce the external debt of budget agencies.
Preliminary indicators show the success of the government and the Ministry of Finance in their efforts to reduce the external debt balance of budget entities by an amount ranging from $1 to $2 billion annually.
The meeting also included a review of the actual financial performance from July 2024 to May 2025, including achieving a significant and strong primary surplus, reducing the overall deficit, and achieving strong and accelerating growth rates for tax revenues reaching 36%. This was realized through improved economic activity, broadening the tax base, without imposing new financial burdens, and continuous efforts to rationalize expenditures.
The meeting also addressed the key targets for the fiscal year 2024/2025, particularly the debt-to-GDP ratio (both domestic and foreign) for budgetary entities, the evolution of tax revenues in the fiscal year 2024/2025, the growth rate, the status of wages and employee compensation, and the status of goods and services purchases and interest.
The meeting also reviewed progress in government investments during the fiscal year within the same framework.
The Minister of Finance presented the updates on the progress and developments related to monitoring the implementation of the IMF program reforms and the ongoing negotiations to reach an agreement and approve the disbursement of the fifth review's tranche.
President El-Sisi directed to benefit from all outstanding international experiences in establishing stable fiscal and tax policies to improve the business environment, broaden the tax base, attract more investments, increase production and exports, and increase employment opportunities.
The President also instructed to further strengthen efforts aimed at enhancing fiscal discipline through government measures to contribute to developing the performance of the Egyptian economy and support national development efforts. Additionally, he emphasized continuing to strengthen allocations directed towards social protection, human development, and support programs for priority groups.