Minister of Finance Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali has reiterated that Egypt is continuing with an economic reform which has begun 15 years ago.  He said that the government has managed to liberate foreign exchange rates and to determine interest rates, noting that public sector participation has been an overwhelming 70% but has been replaced for the most part by the private sector whose performance has contributed to 80% of the gross domestic product.  Ghali noted that the growth rate has risen to 6.5% from 3.5% in the aftermath of the shift in economic targets, the facilities and discounts that have been offered by the new economic laws and which have been spearheaded by the new tax law and the fifty percent tax cuts.  Ghali told a Japanese economic delegation that the tax base has in fact soared despite the tax cuts while explaining that the real target is to curb the budget deficit.   The visiting Japanese delegation is  headed by the deputy State Minister for Economics and Financial Services.

(source: Al-Ahram)