Egyptian Planning & Economic Development Minister and UAE Ambassador meet in Cairo to discuss ways of cooperation
08 March 2022
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, received Ambassador Maryam Khalifa Al Kaabi, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Cairo, to discuss ways of cooperation.
The meeting was attended by Eng. Khaled Mustafa, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning, Eng. Ashraf Abdel Hafeez, Assistant Minister for Digital Transformation, Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Cooperation Office, and Mr. Sami Al Naqbi, Economic Adviser to the UAE Embassy.At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said congratulated; Ambassador Maryam Al-Kaabi on assuming the duties of her new position, praising the Egyptian-Emirati relations, and the economic and commercial relations between Egypt and the UAE, which are a model for Arab and regional relations.El-Said also referred to the extended close relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the sisterly United Arab Emirates in various political and economic fields, which were enhanced by cooperation in the field of digital transformation and institutional development.El-Said reviewed the most prominent areas of cooperation between the two countries and emphasized the desire to open new horizons, pointing to investment cooperation between the two countries within the framework of Egypt's sovereign fund.
The joint strategic platform between The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and Abu Dhabi Holding Company is among the most promising opportunities for joint investment, which took place under the umbrella of the protocol signed in 2019 to pump joint investments amounting to $20 billion to implement economic and development projects.The Minister of Planning and Economic Development said that there are more than 20 investment opportunities between the two countries in various sectors, including the health sector, pharmaceutical manufacturing, real estate development, the financial services sector and digital transformation, the infrastructure sector, communications, agriculture, food processing, and others.
El-Said said that there are promising opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the areas of the digital economy, integrating the environmental dimension, and the transition to green recovery.In the position of implementing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of developing government work between the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future in the United Arab Emirates in February 2018, Dr. Hala El-Said explained that the cooperation includes the development of model government services (automated and integrated) through two service centers in Aswan and Cairo, and designing advanced service packages.For her part, Ambassador Maryam Al Kaabi said: Egypt has a special place in the heart of the UAE, and that there is a strategic partnership between the two countries and fraternity between the two peoples that supports all means of agreement and cooperation, and there is great interest in activating the investment platform and keenness to pump Emirati investments.Al-Kaabi also pointed out that what has been achieved in the field of government excellence is a role model, and that Egypt has made great strides in achieving advanced levels in developing the government excellence process, whether at the level of services provided to citizens or government excellence awards.During the meeting, the UAE ambassador to Cairo praised the national project as "a Decent Life" and the Egyptian state's keenness to achieve developmental leaps in all fields.The meeting also discussed ways of cooperation in the COP 27 conference, which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh at the end of this year. It will be hosted by the UAE next year, and the need for coordination between the two countries in this conference.