The Minister of Planning and Economic Development meets with members of the Alexandria Businessmen Association and many green transformation partners from the Egyptian private sector

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with members of the Alexandria Businessmen Association and some green transformation partners from the private sector to present the development of the green transformation partners’ activity towards measuring the carbon footprint and preparing to announce their commitment to reducing carbon emissions until 2025.
The meeting came within the framework of preparations for the Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh Cop 27 and within the initiative of the Ministry of Planning to encourage private sector investment for green transformation, and within the framework of the protocol signed between the ministry and the Alexandria Businessmen Association.
The meeting was attended by Mohamed Hano, Vice-Chairman of the Alexandria Businessmen Association, Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and Dr. Sherif Al-Diwany, economic expert and advisor to the Alexandria Businessmen Association Board of Directors.
The meeting also witnessed the presence of Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, Dr. Heba Shaheen, Executive Director of the "Erada" initiative, and Mr. Sherif Daoud, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry.
El-Said explained that the private sector is a key partner in all development plans and that the government seeks to provide more opportunities for partnership with the private sector to create more job opportunities and achieve faster progress for the Egyptian economy.



El-Said pointed out that Egypt has begun to develop green initiatives and guidelines for development plans, explaining that last year, 30% of the projects in the state's investment plan were green.
 El-Said added that these green projects will reach 38-40% this year, explaining that it is targeted to reach 50% of public investment projects green projects in 2024/2025.
El-Said touched on the most prominent projects, referring to transport projects, new and renewable energy projects, as well as electronic transport projects such as electric vehicles, in addition to engaging in green hydrogen and water desalination projects, among others.
El-Said referred to the Alexandria Businessmen Association, explaining that it was the first to sign a protocol more than a year ago with the ministry on the strategic framework for green recovery in the private sector so that environmental sustainability standards became the guiding lines and national standards led by the private sector.
In preparation for the Climate Summit, El-Said indicated that some points in the investment law have been activated, whether the license is golden with the Investment Authority, which is obtained in a maximum of 20 working days.
Regarding the participation of the private sector, El-Said indicated that the sector is a key partner in all projects implemented by the state, including the presidential initiative, A Dignified Life, which represents the largest development project in the world.
El-Said referred to the "Green Minds" youth initiative, stressing her belief that the only way to sustainability is to invest in people.
El-Said pointed to the state's investment plan and the state's projects in the climate change strategy, where all projects were set up to 2050.




El-Said clarified that work is currently underway to determine the projects in which the state can invest, and the projects in which the private sector will participate.
For his part, Mohamed Hano, vice-chairman of the Alexandria Businessmen Association, said that the association cooperated with the government in some partnerships, including technical training, and an industrial technical training center was established, and work is underway to develop it.
Moreover, Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, addressed the discussion about the sustainable development partnerships platform at the local level, referring to the national voluntary report that was prepared about four years ago.
Kamali stressed the importance of the participation of the private sector and civil society in many initiatives, such as the initiative for a decent life, as well as the Egyptian family development initiative, noting that a way to communicate electronically was thought to collect these initiatives and their basic data, which helps advance efforts in certain areas.
Kamali added that the platform targets civil society organizations, in particular local and international non-governmental organizations, private sector institutions such as companies, non-profit associations, banks, and universities.
Dr. Sherif Al-Diwany, an economist and advisor to the board of directors of the Alexandria Businessmen Association, said that the country has jewels from the private sector, and they represent a very good model for the private sector in Egypt.
For his part, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, explained that a decent life is presented as a role model in adopting green standards or environmental sustainability standards.

Helmy touched on projects of lining and rehabilitating canals, the introduction of optical fibers within the initiative of a decent life, as well as the introduction of natural gas, and the triple sewage treatment plants, as well as projects for paving roads and lighting them with LED lights and irrigation bridges, as they are green projects.
Dr. Heba Shaheen, Executive Director of the "Erada" initiative, stressed the importance of the goal of the initiative to encourage private sector investment for green transformation, referring to the initiative that was signed between the Ministry, the Sovereign Fund, Irada, the Council of Ministers and the Investment Authority to support the private sector and the transition towards a green economy.
Sherif Daoud, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Development Unit, explained that Egypt is hosting the Cop27 Climate Conference, which has three main workstreams, the first of which is the negotiating track, and the second is the initiatives track with stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, researchers and academics.
 Daoud added that the third track is around the Green Zone, adding that the government is proceeding on those three tracks as part of preparations to host COP27.During the meeting, some green transformation partners reviewed the projects and services their companies are working on to support the green transformation.
These companies included SODIC, El Sewedy Electric, Container Engineering, Qurra Energy, Options Travel, Hamza Group, Nile University, CIB, Fawry, Lina Farms, Tatweer Misr, Alexandria Industrial Packaging Company, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).