El Sisi begins his third term with big promises: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced the key features and objectives for Egypt’s national strategy on several domestic and external issues during a seven-point speech yesterday, after being sworn in for his third term at the House of Representatives in the new administrative capital.

Remember: El Sisi secured his third term in office in December with 89.6% of the vote.

What’s next? The presidency will begin its move to the new administrative capital, Administrative Capital for Urban Development CEO Khaled Abbas has previously said.

The tl;dr: The speech outlined the state’s commitments to strengthen the country’s foreign relations, national security, economic growth and productivity, fiscal discipline, education, and urban planning. The strategy also seeks to enact economic and social changes based on policy recommendations from the National Dialogue. You can read the full speech here or watch the full ceremony here (watch, runtime: 1:35:37).

The breakdown:

#1- Economic growth: The president aims to adopt strategies that build a more resilient economy, increase private sector involvement, achieve sustainable economic growth, and prioritizing the agriculture, industry, CIT, and tourism sectors. He mentioned plans to attract more local and foreign investment while “giving priority to local manufacturing programs to increase exports and Egypt’s foreign exchange earnings.”

** Where do things currently stand? The government sees the economy growing at a 4.2%clip in fiscal year 2024-2025 as part of the government’s economic and social development plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The Madbouly government sees the economy growing at a 3.5% clip in the fiscal year ending June 2024. S&P and the World Bank have penciled in the same figure, but the IMF is less optimistic, having slashed Egypt’s 2023-24 growth forecast to 3.0% in January.

Remember: The Sisi administration is looking to achieve annual growth of 6-8% by the end of El Sisi’s third term, according to a report (pdf) from the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).

#2- Economic and fiscal reforms: Institutional reforms aimed at bettering the country’s fiscal discipline were outlined, including “rationalizing public expenditure, enhancing public revenues, and moving towards more sustainable paths for public debt.” The president also highlighted plans to increase activity in the Suez Canal and make Egypt a regional hub for “transportation and transit trade, new and renewable energy, and green hydrogen and its derivatives.”

We’ve already taken major steps in the way of reforms as part of our loan agreement with the IMF. Over the past month the Central Bank of Egypt floated the EGP and hiked rates by 600 bps, a move which helped boost FX liquidity in the banking system, clamp down on black market trade, and reignite investor confidence in the economy. The Madbouly government has also set an EGP 1 tn cap on public investments for all state entities for the next fiscal year, as part of a wider plan to create space for the private sector and boost investments.

#3- Foreign relations: Egypt will prioritize national security amid a “turbulent regional and international milieu” and will work on “balanced relations with all actors in a new world.” A hallmark of El Sisi’s time in office has been the implementation of a multipolar foreign policy emphasizing ties with a broader spectrum of major powers (the EU, China, and Russia alongside traditional allies like the United States) and comparatively more interest in Africa than past administrations.

#4- Public consultation: El Sisi aims to “complete and deepen” the National Dialogue and enact its recommendations for political, economic, and social reforms.

#5- Improved education and healthcare: Bettering the country’s quality of education and public health are on the agenda, as well as completing the universal health ins. system.

#6- More social support: El Sisi unveiled plans to increase allocations for Takaful and Karama programs and to round off all phases of the Decent Life initiative.

#7- Urban development: The president said that he plans to finish constructing smart cities — also referred to as fourth generation cities — as well as “developing major unplanned areas,” and completing the Housing for All Egyptians initiative which targets low-income families.

That’s not all: Ministries are gearing up for ambitious targets for El Sisi’s third term. You can check out our deep dives into the targets and the plan to meet them for:

Cabinet shuffle next? El Sisi’s new term is likely to start with some new faces at the helm of some of the country’s ministries and other government bodies.

El Sisi’s inauguration received coverage from: Reuters | The National | France24 | AFP.

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