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CAIRO - Let me first express my deepest sympathies to the families of the Egyptian soldiers who were killed on Friday in the terrorist attack in the Sinai. The United States strongly condemns this attack, and we continue to support the Egyptian government's efforts to counter the threat of terrorism in Egypt.
I would like to thank Finance Minister Dimian for meeting with me today. During our meeting we had the opportunity to discuss the strong initial steps Egypt has taken to begin advancing its economic reform agenda, the implementation of which will be critical to strengthening the macroeconomic environment.
We both agreed that creating jobs and opportunity for all segments of the Egyptian people must be at the center of the government's reform agenda. We discussed Egypt’s need for external assistance in order to support the long-term, broad-based, sustainable growth of the Egyptian economy and greater economic security.
Minister Dimian highlighted for me the ambitious reforms that his government has undertaken since June. We welcome these reforms and urge the Egyptian government to continue on this path. The economic reforms include a number of steps to reorient the budget toward improving the lives of the Egyptian people, including boosting spending for social programs, supporting health and education spending, and reducing inefficient spending on subsidies. These steps will help Egypt invest in its people, so that all Egyptians can share in the country's growth, while putting Egypt’s budget and debt trajectory on a more sustainable path. Minister Dimian noted that these reforms are just one part of a multi-year reform process. I look forward to the upcoming publication of Egypt’s detailed medium-term macroeconomic plan, and to Egypt continuing this positive momentum over the next few years.
We welcome Egypt’s plans to host an Economic Summit in February 2015. The summit will be an important opportunity for Egypt to showcase the additional economic reforms that Egypt will undertake in the next few months and highlight details of its planned agenda to private investors. This in turn should help attract much-needed private investment to Egypt, creating greater employment opportunities for Egyptians. We discussed the rule of law and how creating an open political environment in which individual rights are fully respected would further bolster Egypt’s ability to attract international investment.
Minister Dimian and I discussed ways in which the United States might support Egypt’s efforts to reform and strengthen its economy, as well as directly support the Egyptian people during Egypt's many transitions. Staff from the Treasury Department visited Cairo in September to discuss opportunities to help the Ministry manage its resources more efficiently and improve budget operations, and we plan to deploy assistance in this area soon. In addition, the United States is moving forward with around $200 million in annual programing aimed at improving the lives of the Egyptian people, and we will continue to look for ways in which U.S. assistance can help support Egypt’s efforts to implement sustainable economic reforms. Finally, the U.S. government is working closely with the U.S. private sector to showcase the steps Egypt is taking to improve the investment environment, paving the way for private sector opportunities in Egypt. In November, the U.S. government will lead a mission of the United States Chamber of Commerce to Egypt. These businesses are closely following Egypt's progress on economic reforms, and are noting with interest the steps taken toward sustainable growth.
We also discussed plans for the International Monetary Fund to conduct an assessment of the Egyptian economy later this year. Discussions with the IMF can help Egypt to further refine its economic reform agenda and help to further build confidence ahead of the February investment summit. I am also pleased that the multilateral development banks, with the support of the United States, have already provided assistance to Egypt. This includes the World Bank, a strong and reliable development partner delivering both public and private sector support, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which continues to grow its private sector investments in Egypt, and the African Development Bank, which will significantly increase its lending to Egypt next year. This assistance plays a critical role in helping Egypt to invest in infrastructure, strengthen the social safety net, expand access to financial services for low-income households, help support small businesses - which are the engines of sustainable growth - and promote private sector investment in Egypt.
I again thank Finance Minister Dimian for his hospitality and congratulate him on the progress his government has made so far on critical economic reforms. I look forward to continuing our dialogue and enhancing the economic partnership between our two countries to help build an Egypt that can grow and support jobs for all Egyptians in the long run.
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