Egypt’s planning minister, World Bank delegation discuss future cooperation plan

CAIRO – 16 September 2021: Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said met with a World Bank (WB) delegation to discuss the future cooperation plan between Egypt and the international organization.

The delegation was headed by Marina Weiss, Regional Director of the World Bank office in Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, and Ayat Soliman, Regional Director of the World Bank Group's Sustainable Development Department for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

During the meeting, El-Said reviewed the role of the Ministry of Planning in developing the state's investment plan, and the areas of work of the ministry's agencies, which include the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS), the Institute-of-National-Planning (INP), and the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD).

El-Said referred to some development projects that are being implemented, on top of which is the presidential initiative "Decent Life" and the role of the Rowad 2030 project and what it offers in spreading the idea of ​​entrepreneurship and self-employment among young people and supporting the green economy.

El-Said pointed to the second phase of the national economic reform program, which targets the implementation of bold and constructive structural reforms to encourage comprehensive growth, creation of new job opportunities, diversification and development of production patterns, improvement of the business climate, and localization of precise industries.

El-Said explained that the program is based on five pillars, which are enhancing the business environment and the role of the private sector; promoting the labor market and the efficiency of vocational, technical, and technological training; improving financial inclusion and facilitating access to finance; ensuring public governance and completing the digital transformation process; and, investing in human capital development in the fields of education, health and social protection.

El-Said shed light on The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), explaining that the nature of the fund's work is based on developing untapped assets, by entering into partnerships with the private sector, and reinvesting the achieved financial surpluses.

TSFE aims to achieve sustainable development and preserve the rights of future generations by maximizing the exploitation of these assets.

El-Said added that TSFE establishes subsidiary funds, which serve as investment arms, namely: the Tourism, Real Estate Investment and Antiquities Development Fund, the Utilities and Infrastructure Fund, the Health Services and Pharmaceutical Industries Fund, and the Financial Services and Digital Transformation Fund.

Concerning the Egyptian family development plan, El-Said explained that the state seeks to address the population issue from a comprehensive development perspective, which aims to achieve a balance between resources and population growth requirements.

El-Said emphasized that the government's plan to deal with the population issue is based on concerting the efforts of all parties working to manage this issue through the implementation of a strategic plan with integrated dimensions and pillars for the development of the Egyptian family.

El-Said explained that the main objective of that plan is to manage the population issue from a comprehensive perspective to improve the quality of life of the citizen and ensure the sustainability of the development process, by working to control population growth on the one hand and improving population characteristics on the other hand.

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said stressed that Egypt attached great importance to green economic growth, as the Egyptian state, in cooperation with the Ministries of Planning and Economic Development and the Environment, prepared the first guide to environmental sustainability criteria in the sustainable development plan, under the name of the strategic framework for green recovery.

The Egyptian state aims to double the percentage of green public investments from 15% in FY20/2021 to 30% in FY21/2022, to become 50% by the end of FY2024/2025.

In this context, the state gives priority to financing green investment initiatives and projects, including the expansion of the subway network, water desalination projects, and new and renewable energy projects.

During the meeting, World Bank officials valued cooperation with the Ministry of Planning, especially cooperation in combating poverty, and the progress made on that front in 2019 and 2020, looking forward to furthering cooperation with Egypt in the field of data analysis.

The World Bank delegation commended Egypt's launch of the Human Development Report, Pathway and Prospects, and the report's monitoring and analysis of the achievements made in Egypt during the past ten years.

The bank officials also discussed the possibility of providing technical support in the areas of family development, the structural reforms program, and a study in the areas of sustainable development.

Bank officials referred to Egypt's hosting of COP 27, and its readiness to support Egypt in this event, as well as Egypt's participation in preparing the "Country Climate Development Report", and cooperation mechanisms between the Bank Group and Egypt in preparing this report.