CAIRO, March 5 (MENA) - Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli called on the Arab and Islamic countries as well as the international community to turn the resolutions of the extraordinary Arab summit hosted by Cairo on Tuesday into executive steps within the coming period.

At a press conference following the weekly cabinet meeting, Madbouli said there was an Arab consensus on the resolutions adopted by the Cairo summit, foremost among which is the adoption of the Gaza reconstruction and early recovery plan.

Speaking about the Gaza reconstruction plan, he said “we were assigned with this file over the past period and we made a lot of efforts with the help of universities and consultancy offices, taking into consideration the local and international studies supplied by the Palestinian Authority to outline the Gaza reconstruction plan.”

He termed as historic the speech delivered by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the summit that reflected the constants of Egypt’s stance and its full support of Palestine.

There was a full praise of the Egyptian and Arab stance in adopting a clear-cut plan for the reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of Palestinians.

The speeches of all participants, including those of the UN Secretary-General, the President of the European Council and the President of Angola, who is the current chairperson of the African Union, showed a consensus on adopting an approach to reconstruction without displacing the residents of Gaza.

Madbouli stressed that there will be no stability in the Middle East without a permanent and just solution to the Palestinian issue. This solution must be based on the establishment of a Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Other attempts and solutions will be nothing more than temporary measures or short-term sedatives, he said, warning that instability will persist unless a comprehensive, lasting, and just solution to the Palestinian problem was adopted.

As for his meeting with the EU commissioner for the Mediterranean affairs, he lauded the 90 million euro soft funding agreement signed with the EU to enhance food security, saying such a move comes as part of efforts to provide necessary strategic commodities within the coming stage.

Talking about the positive indicators of national economy, he said for the second consecutive month the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) has exceeded 50 points, which means that the private sector and business community in Egypt have an optimistic outlook towards national economy and its growth and this provides a strong boost to continue implementing further economic reforms.

He referred to the Central Bank of Egypt's announcement of an increase in net foreign assets of the banking sector that hit positive $8.7 billion in January 2025, compared to negative $29bn in January 2024, marking an impressive $37.8bn turnaround.

This shows that the increase was recorded since the government began implementing economic reforms last year, he said, noting that the one-month increase alone represents around 60% of assets as the figure hit $5.2 billion in December and it surged to hit $8.7 billion at the end of January.

Regarding the rise in foreign exchange reserves, the Prime Minister indicated that they have now reached $47.4 billion, an increase of more than $128 million compared to the previous month.

These are positive indicators concerning exchange rate stability, he said, adding that the economic situation is progressing very well despite the increased consumption and demand for hard currency and goods during the holy month of Ramadan.

Madbouli stressed that the government is keen on achieving the goal set by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi as regards making a balance between the state's foreign currency revenues and expenses with the aim of securing a surplus.

He noted that the Central Bank governor submits a biweekly report on foreign currency resources and uses.

Over the last two weeks, foreign currency resources have equaled expenses, indicating that the country is on the right track despite all challenges, Madbouli said.

“What we seek to achieve within the coming period is not only to maintain this balance but also to achieve a surplus in a way that will strengthen the Egyptian economy,” according to him. This goal, he said, will be only achieved by focusing on key sectors, including industry, agriculture, information and communication technology, and tourism. (MENA)
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