Egypt’s Planning Minister, US Chargé d'Affaires in Cairo meet to discuss enhancing cooperation means

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met U.S. Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim, to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Ambassador Daniel Rubinstein to discuss potential areas of cooperation.

 

The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister, Dr. Nada Masoud, Economic Adviser to the Minister, Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Cooperation Office at the Ministry, Mr. Raj Wadwani, Minister Plenipotentiary for Economic Affairs, Mr. Nicholas Persence, Economic Officer at the Embassy, ​​and Ms. Laura Gonzalez. Director of Economic Growth at the US Agency for International Development.

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said presented an overview of the Egyptian economy in light of global changes. She also reviewed the initiatives and work files being worked on by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

El-Said explained that the ministry is cooperating with various ministries, institutions, the private sector, and civil society to implement Egypt's Vision 2030. She emphasized the participatory approach taken in preparing and updating the vision which will be launched soon.

Furthermore, the Minister of Planning referred to the national program for structural reforms, which focuses primarily on reforming the economy, noting that technical education can play a significant role in qualifying a large number of young people and providing them with skills and capabilities that allow them to meet the needs of the labor market as well as the skills required in the context of digital transformation and the fourth industrial revolution.

El-Said highlighted Egyptian-US relations within the current changes and declared that the United States of America (U.S.A.) is the third biggest investor in the Egyptian market for 2020/2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She further noted that Egypt is considered the biggest investment partner for the U.S. in Africa and the second biggest in the Middle East.

Regarding the Ministry of Planning's Initiatives and operations, Dr. Hala El-Said shed light on the "Decent Life for Africa, for a Climate Resilient Africa” initiative which aims to improve the quality of life of 30% of the weakest and most impoverished villages and rural areas on the continent by 2030. This comes in cooperation with several countries, international organizations, civil organizations, and the private sector.

 

The initiative aims to support the execution of the United Nations (UN) United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, and the Paris Convention, to support the African nations in their national-specific contributions through verging climate action with rural sustainable development in Africa.

Moreover, El-Said indicated that the National Initiative for Green and Smart Projects is considered a quantum leap in the mechanism of addressing climate change and its repercussions in all Egyptian governorates.

 

 

Furthermore, El-Said referred to the “Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countries Initiative” that was launched at COP 27.

 

The initiative focuses on consolidating the concept of greening the national investment plans as a means to generalize measures and important investments to achieve the goals of the UN Framework Convention on climate change, the Paris Convention related to it, and to support the nationally identified contributions.

 

It also aims to increase the rate of green projects in the national investment plans in these countries by 30% in 2030.

On the other hand, the US Charge d’affaires reviewed the international economic situation, especially after the recent economic developments in the United States of America. He also reviewed the cooperation between the Egyptian government and USAID.