Deputy Minister of Planning participates in the opening of the conference "Promoting Competitive Neutrality: The Egyptian & International Experience"

On behalf of H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development participated recently in the opening of the conference “Promoting Competitive Neutrality: The Egyptian & International Experience” organized by the Competition Protection Authority under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Prime Minister.

During his speech at the conference, Dr. Ahmed Kamali said that the convening of the “Promoting Competitive Neutrality "conference comes at a time when the whole world is witnessing accelerating economic, social, and geopolitical conditions and changes that negatively affect the efforts made by governments to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic and social development, which demonstrates the importance of providing a free competitive environment.

Kamali referred to the principles on which the sustainable development strategy focused: Egypt's Vision 2030, which was endorsed by the state in 2016, represents the national version of the UN SDGs.

Kamali explained that the Egyptian state also aims to enhance the confidence of private sector investors to enter the market, within a general framework of empowering and supporting the private sector and enhancing its contribution to advancing economic growth, as the state has implemented many legislative and institutional reforms in support of the partnership between the public and private sectors.

Kamali pointed to activating the role of the business climate reform initiative "Irada", which aims to reform the legislative and regulatory framework to ensure the stimulation of business, as the government is keen to activate the utilization of the facilities provided by the package of laws and legislation that were issued in recent years by ensuring consistency and integration between this legislation and rehabilitation of the various concerned authorities to implement it.

Regarding The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), Kamali stressed that the establishment of the fund in 2018 came within the framework of the state's endeavor to strengthen the institutional framework supporting investment, as the fund is one of the mechanisms to enhance partnerships with the local and foreign private sector, and it is considered the ideal partner for the private sector.

Kamali pointed out that the Egyptian state has worked to prepare the infrastructure and improve its quality. This is one of the main pillars of the state's efforts to stimulate the private sector and to implement many major projects.

Kamali stressed that all of these legislative and legal frameworks are the starting point for the Egyptian state's adoption of the strategy of the Authority for Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices 2021-2025, which comes in line with Egypt's Vision 2030 and the goals of sustainable development.

In this context, Kamali indicated that the state put forward a draft document of the "State Ownership Policy", which was approved in its final form. This document explains to investors the role of the state in various sectors as a regulator of economic activity according to market mechanisms. 

Kamali stressed the state's keenness to diversify promising investment fields and opportunities in Egypt for local and foreign investors, in line with Egypt's comparative advantages, as investment fields include opportunities for investment in the agricultural sector, investment in the communications and information technology sector, and the tourism sector.