The Minister of Planning and Economic Development meets with a delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to review many major projects

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with the EBRD delegation headed by Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policies and Partnerships, to review many major projects and enhance cooperation.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Cooperation Office, Dr. Heike Harmgart, Managing Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region, Harry Boyd Carpenter, Managing Director of Green Economy and Climate Action (GECA), and Khaled Hamza , Director of the Bank in Egypt, and representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.The meeting witnessed a review of some important topics about Egypt's hosting of the COP27 climate conference, the Egyptian structural reform program, Egypt's sovereign fund, as well as the presidential initiative "A Decent Life", and the green economy.On the current economic situation in Egypt, Dr. Hala El-Said explained that Egypt was able to achieve a growth rate of 9% in the first half of the fiscal year 2021/2022, and 8.3% in the second quarter of the year 22/21.
 El-Said added that this indicates a strong return after the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the growth rate is expected to reach about 6% in the 2021/2022 fiscal year.
Dr. Hala El-Said referred to the National Program for Structural Reforms, explaining that it targets the real economy by implementing a comprehensive package of radical and targeted reforms at the structural and legal levels and targeting the root causes of imbalances in the real sector and business environment to encourage inclusive growth.El-Said added that the structural reform program includes 6 pillars, including a basic pillar and 5 supporting pillars, as the main pillar includes increasing the relative weight of three sectors in the Egyptian economy represented in manufacturing, agriculture, and information and communication technology.El-Said pointed out the importance of Egyptian exports to include a more technological component. To make the economy more flexible, he continued that the National Structural Reform Program aims to reshape the Egyptian economy towards a competitive export sector, noting that Egyptian exports recorded a record high of $45.2 billion in 2021, the highest in Egypt’s history.
El-Saidaffirmed Egypt's endeavor to achieve more localization of industries, as the only way to achieve this is to attract investors to increase the level of technology, which is reflected in making Egyptian exports more competitive.
El-Said explained that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can provide support by training Egyptian workers to be able to compete internationally so that international companies can enter, making Egypt a center for research and development.
El-Said added that the productivity of the private sector is among the main priorities for Egypt, noting the challenges that are being faced in the search for foreign direct investment.
El-Said explained the focus of the structural reform program on the supply side of the economy, and how to enhance productivity, noting the support that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can provide through foreign direct investments, as well as support for capacity building and provide an overview of countries' experiences in this regard.El-Said added that small and medium-sized companies comprise the first share of employment in Egypt, as it comprises more than 95%, but their contribution to higher-value activities is low.
 El-Said added that as part of the National Structural Reform Program, the EBRD can help SMEs better integrate into both supply and value chains, which will, in turn, lead to more value-added economic activity through the provision of financing and technical assistance.
El-Said talked about The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and the four sub-funds that have been established in areas in line with the state's priorities, including health services, infrastructure and utilities, financial services, digital transformation, and tourism and real estate investment.El-Said reviewed a number of the fund's activities, noting that the fund signed an agreement with the Norwegian company Scatec and Fertiglobe plc, in addition to joining the One Planet initiative, and investing in green hydrogen production, sustainable transportation, seawater desalination, and new and renewable energy projects.
 El-Said added that the fund is also working on preparing criteria for sustainable financing in cooperation with the Central Bank, in addition to preparing a package of green incentives for the private sector in partnership with the ministries of finance and environment.
On the transition towards a green economy, El-Saidreferred to the announcement that 30% of the current government investment plan covers green projects, with a target to increase the percentage to 50% by the fiscal year 2024/2025.El-Saidreferred to the Cop27 global climate summit in Egypt, explaining the importance of mitigating and reducing emissions, but adaptation is more important for Egypt.
El-Said affirmed the keenness of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to integrate the environmental dimensions, sustainability, and climate change into the various relevant national plans and strategies, noting the establishment of the ministry.
Updating the sustainable development strategy “Egypt Vision 2030”: to reflect several challenges, which include the repercussions of the pandemic, international and regional changes, as well as environmental challenges, water scarcity, and climate change, and to achieve a balance between the national, regional and international 2030 agenda.

Concerning preparing for the COP27 conference, El-Saidspoke about the role of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in the preparatory process for COP27.
 El-Said pointed to the work of integrating environmental sustainability and climate change issues into the local and national planning process and various economic policies, in addition to formulating various initiatives at the national and regional levels focusing on raising awareness, data, research, and development, and environmental education.

El-Said continued the discussion about the role of the Ministry of Planning, pointing to the greening of the investment plan, through the implementation of environmental sustainability standards, as well as green bonds.

El-Said also talked about the presidential initiative "a Decent Life", explaining the Egyptian government's direction in a wide range of public investments aimed at advancing economic growth and social development.

 El-Saidreferred to the National Program for the Development of the Egyptian Rural: "A Decent Life", noting that since climate change has become a top priority all over the world and the Decent Life Initiative is the largest development project in Egypt and the world, it is important to integrate climate policies into the initiative and make it a core theme.

El-Saidindicated that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development can support the localization of key performance indicators that measure climate progress at the governorate level, with the possibility of providing support as well by providing a model for measuring the impact of the initiative to facilitate the investment process for each project.
El-Saidstressed the importance of encouraging private sector financing for sector companies to study the impact and not just the size, especially in development projects such as the Decent Life initiative.