The government also instituted policies to absorb the negative impact of the inflation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016, with the trade deficit recording a peak value at US$38 billion in 2018-2019 due to ongoing rises in oil prices.
These values were affected by the closure of global economic systems due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative repercussions Improvements in the nation's trade balance appeared afterwards to approach where it had been in 2011–2012, recording US$31.2 billion in 2022–2023.
[8][9] Many economists believed that the government had spent too much borrowed money on infrastructure projects that would not quickly generate the amount of foreign currency it needs.
[11] However, these sectors did not directly contribute to increasing exports or reducing imports, which was reflected in the continued trade deficit present in 2024 that had not significantly changed for the better since the adoption of its International Monetary Fund program in late 2016.
[12] The years from 2017 to 2020 witnessed a boom in the growth of loans from multinational institutions, driven by many infrastructure projects adopted by these donors.
These projects have sparked societal debate about the necessity of the expansion of Egypt's rail system, and the pressure it contributes to national external debt.
Egypt's growing military footprint and its control over economic policy are considered by analysts to be a hallmark of the Sisi government and one of the roots of its current debt crisis.
One of the main conditions of the US$3 billion IMF loan he received in 2016 was to reform the administrative structure of military entities, end their tax exemptions, and provide a level playing field for the private sector.
Sawiris said that the state should act as a regulator and not an owner of economic activity, adding that “companies owned by the government or the military do not pay taxes.”[17][18] On November 12, 2023, the Egyptian Prime Minister announced that Egypt aims to offer 32 companies as part of a government program offering public assets for sale.
On February 13, 2024, the Egyptian Minister of Finance said that his country was targeting revenues of up to US$6.5 billion from the government offering program by the end of 2024.
[21] On January 31, 2024, the Egyptian Cabinet decided to reduce the public treasury's financing in the investment plan for the fiscal year 2023–2024 by 15% of the targeted allotments for agencies within the state's general budget.
[22] On February 7, 2024, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed the activation of a social protection package, which included working to raise the minimum wage by 50% to reach 6,000 Egyptian pounds per month, and increasing the wages of state employees and economic entities, with a minimum ranging between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds per month according to the job grade.