On the sidelines of her participation in the World Government Summit 2022 in Dubai: The Minister of Planning and Economic Development meets the Secretary-General of UNCTAD to review the efforts of the Egyptian state and discuss ways to enhance cooperation
29 March 2022
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Rebeca Greenspan, Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and review the efforts of the Egyptian state, on the sidelines of her participation in the World Government Summit 2022.The World Government Summit is taking place from March 29-30, under the theme "Shaping the Governments of the Future" in Dubai coinciding with the conclusion of the "Expo 2020 Dubai" activities.During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, reviewed the efforts made by the Egyptian state on several prominent issues, such as empowering women, enhancing private sector participation, enhancing investments, and the efforts of the sovereign fund.In the field of investment promotion, El-Said referred to the establishment of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) as one of the mechanisms to enhance partnership with the private sector, which represents the government's investment arm.
El-Said explained that TSFE was established in 2018, within the framework of the Egyptian state’s plan to achieve sustainable development, Egypt’s Vision 2030.El-Said explained that the fund has established four sub-funds in the areas of "diverse health services, infrastructure, financial services, and digital transformation, tourism, and real estate investment", in addition to the fund's expansion into international and local partnerships.
Moreover, the Fund participated in the establishment of the Egyptian National Company for Railway Industries to support and implement the state's general direction regarding the deepening and localization of the railway industry, especially the mobile units.
El-Said also referred to the efforts of "Egypt's Sovereign Investment and Development Fund" in the field of climate change by investing in many green projects, such as the hydrogen and green ammonia production project in partnership with some specialized international companies.
El-Said also explained the fund's efforts in water desalination projects, stressing that many alliances were established with regional and international sovereign wealth funds.Regarding the empowerment of women, El-Said pointed to the launch of the “She Trades” initiative, pointing out that 50 women are targeted annually in a competition to evaluate their products, quality, and the possibility of exporting them, while providing support to them in exporting their products with the help of the Islamic Development Bank, to promote trade and exports to some women each year.El-Said pointed out that Egypt aims to invest in a group of green projects, with low emissions, during the coming period.El-Said explained that the government has invested heavily in building infrastructure, paving the way for the private sector and providing the necessary support to the private sector to expand its activities and participate in the economy in all fields.For her part, Rebeca Greenspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), stressed the desire of UNCTAD to deepen cooperation with Egypt in all economic fields and support Egyptian efforts to achieve its development goals.Greenspan emphasized the existence of large areas for cooperation with Egypt in green projects, capacity building, and support for the private sector.