This Palgrave Pivot, in light of the new conditions, the new realities and the essential new "unknowns" abruptly thrown up by the COVID-19 pandemic, offers pragmatic policy prescriptions to Egyptian decision-makers as a road map to guide them in steering the country out of crisis and toward a better future for the Egyptian people. Egypt is the world's 14th largest country by population but ranks only 44th globally with regards to its GDP (in 2019 nominal US$ terms). The mismatch between Egypt's population size and GDP rank highlights a key concern of this work - that in spite of notable achievements in certain areas and the success of the recently-concluded IMF program, the country remains far from achieving its economic potential. Throughout its modern era, the country has lagged behind in household income, social welfare, productivity and many other markers of twenty-first century economic success even vis-à-vis other developing country peers. This book focuses on framing the optimal macroeconomic policy agenda for Egypt in the face of the big global, regional and national forces that are being accelerated, intensified or changed by the COVID-19 crisis rather than on specific sectoral policy formulations. The authors present these big questions in the context of showing how Egypt can best navigate the risks and seize the opportunities of the current period of intense flux and transition, to put itself in the best possible position to create prosperity, stability, and hope for its citizens. The authors examine to what extent the Egyptian authorities can fulfill their ambitious development plans and in producing this work, to provide useful lessons that can be applied to other governments struggling to respond to the challenges of the age.

Mahmoud Mohieldin is the United Nation's Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Previously he was the World Bank Group's Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, UN Relations, and Partnerships. He serves as a Board member on the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, as well as an observer to the EU MultiStakeholder Platform for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr. Mohieldin previously served as Corporate Secretary, President's Special Envoy, and Managing Director for the World Bank Group. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004 until 2010. Dr. Mohieldin also served on several Boards of Directors in the Central Bank of Egypt and the corporate sector. He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. Hanan AminSalem is Global Head of Sovereign Advisory at Citi. She was formerly the First Deputy Minister of Finance in Egypt.