The Egyptian Economy: A lecture by Dr. Ismail Serageldin
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Alexandria, 14 March 2005—Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), delivered a lecture entitled Egyptian Economy, on 12 March, within the roundtable discussions that took place in Egypt’s International Economic Forum premises, in collaboration with the Arab Reform Forum of BA. The discussions aimed to shed light on the progress of the economic reform initiated, and how to best maintain economic reform in Egypt.
During his lecture, Dr. Serageldin pointed out that the main factor toward economic reform is the resolving of unemployment. He added that the unemployment rates of youth aged 19-25 have reached 30%, and that the government offers only 360 thousand jobs while there are 890 thousand youth entering the labor force annually. Thus, the government needs to create an additional 800 thousand job vacancies, and should increase economic growth from 3% to 7%. He added that maintaining an unemployment rate of 522 thousand youth annually is equivalent to the damage of one youth’s future per minute.
Dr. Serageldin spoke of the ten main factors which can beget economic reform. They are management reform, tax reform, good financial management, increasing government (non-tax) revenue, good monetary management policies, banking reform, increasing exports, improving labor market policies, protecting the poor, as well as implementation and follow up.
He stressed the importance of the active role of Egyptian society in improving the economy, the sovereignty of democracy, and the support of human rights in bringing about economic reform. He added that Egypt is taking a successful approach to reform in many aspects, despite the social and economic challenges it faces.
Participants in the discussions included 45 executives, as well as several specialists in Egyptian economic affairs. They agreed on the importance of benefiting from other countries’ experiences, and on the enhancement of performance and output in all fields. They also stated the importance of change management, which is a responsibility shared by the government and civil society alike.
The discussion was concluded with the participants" agreement upon three main points needed to achieve economic reform. They are the Cabinet’s dedication to a common vision, public support for this vision, and finally the innovation of solutions to demolish the barriers between different sectors of society.
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| Dr. Ismail during his presentation |
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The roundtable discussion |