RIYADH: Egypt achieved a primary budget surplus of 6.1 percent in the fiscal year 2023/24, bolstered by a landmark sale of coastal land to the UAE, said the country’s finance minister. At a press conference, Ahmed Kouchouk disclosed that Egypt’s total expenditure amounted to 3.016 trillion Egyptian pounds ($61.3 billion), with a budget deficit of 3.6 percent. In February, the UAE, through a consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ, signed an agreement to invest $35 billion in Ras El-Hekma, a Mediterranean region 350 km northwest of Cairo. This deal represents the largest foreign direct investment in Egypt’s history. The minister highlighted that no new taxes were imposed last year, and tax revenues increased by 30 percent year on year for the financial year 2023/24. This aligns with the International Monetary Fund’s objective for Egypt to boost tax revenue in its 2025/26 budget. “The priority is to improve services for citizens as much as we can and we work with all our efforts so that what is coming will be better,” Kouchouk said. “The Egyptian people are the real owners of the budget, and we will also work hard to maximize resources to create sufficient financial space for spending on human development areas and everything that matters to citizens,” he added. He further explained that despite improvements in budget numbers, they would be ineffective unless they translate into better economic performance, enhanced business competitiveness, and an improved standard of living. “The challenges are difficult for the people, the economy, and the government, and the state is trying to bear the greatest burden,” the minister said. Kouchouk also noted a 25 percent increase in spending on education, 24 percent on health, and 20 percent on social protection. Allocations for support and social protection have more than doubled since 2020/21 to reach 550 billion pounds, he said. “We will rearrange our priorities again so that public spending is more socially conscious in order to contain the impact of economic reforms,” the minister added. Kouchouk acknowledged a decline in public investments but said: “We are working hard to increase the volume of private investments with a focus on investments directed to industry and export and we still need more work to increase the private sector’s contributions to economic activity.” In April, then-Finance Minister Mohamed Maait noted that Egypt’s economic reforms, aimed at empowering the private sector and attracting investment, had begun to yield positive results despite global and regional economic challenges. Financial indicators had surpassed budget estimates and targets over the previous nine months of the fiscal year 2023/2024.