On the sidelines of ISDB2023AM:Egypt’s Planning Minister participates in the ISDB dialogue entitled “Model Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Development: IsDB & Egypt"

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development who also acts as Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) participated in the Bank's Governors' Dialogue entitled "Model Partnership for Sustainable and Resilient Development: The Islamic Development Bank Group and the Arab Republic of Egypt".

This came within the activities of the Bank Group annual meetings, held from 10-13 May, in Jeddah, under the slogan: "Establishing partnerships to prevent crises."

During the meeting, El-Said reviewed the Egyptian economic and social reform plan to face global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent geopolitical crises, stressing that the world has been affected by the repercussions of Covid-19 and then the current conflicts due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, supply chain disruptions and increased inflation rates, which affect global growth rates, explaining that these challenges affect more developing countries.

El-Said pointed out that Egypt is well aware that the prevailing situation requires revitalizing efforts to address bottlenecks and structural issues in the economy. Crises are always opportunities for countries to reshape their future and improve the lives of future generations, she emphasized.

The Minister of Planning indicated that the Egyptian government has taken short-term policies and urgent measures to mitigate the crisis's impact, pointing to raising the minimum wage, raising the minimum tax exemption, and continuing to provide financial support to targeted families through ration cards.

El-Said referred to the launch of the National Program for Structural Reforms in 2021, which focuses on raising the productive and competitive capacity of the economy and enhancing its flexibility, as the program addresses the root causes of imbalances in the real sector, by creating decent job opportunities, diversifying and developing production patterns.

El-Said added that the program aims to increase the relative weight of the agricultural, industrial, and communications sectors and that the cornerstone of the project is the pillar of enhancing the effectiveness and flexibility of the labor market through the development of the technical and vocational education and training system.

El-Said pointed out that when preparing the details and items of the national structural reform program, quantitative goals were set to evaluate and document achievements and results. An increase of 20% was achieved in non-oil exports compared to the target growth of 15%, and 27% in the engineering and electronic industries.

El-Said also referred to the government's efforts to invest in infrastructure and implement large projects in the transportation, road network, and energy sectors, in addition to the institutional and legislative reforms aimed at paving the way for the participation of the private sector so that it has a greater role in the Egyptian economy and contributes more to development efforts.

El-Said explained Egypt's aspiration to increase the volume of foreign investments in the most attractive sectors such as renewable energy, water desalination, medical services, information and communication technology, and agricultural industries, as the government is keen to create an investment-friendly environment that encourages the business community to expand investment and production activities, thus maximizing exports and enhancing competitiveness on international markets.

In her answer to a question about Egypt's vision of self-sufficiency in energy and electricity, the Minister of Planning said that the government is taking great steps to achieve self-sufficiency in energy by shifting towards a green and sustainable economy, and by preserving environmental and natural resources.

El-Said pointed out that Egypt has made significant progress in increasing the share of renewable energy in the energy mix in Egypt to 20% in 2022, to reach 42% in 2035. This has been done through the implementation of huge projects, such as the Benban solar power plant in Aswan and the wind power plant in Jabal the oil.

El-Said referred to the launch of the National Climate Change Strategy, the National Hydrogen Strategy to promote blue and green hydrogen, and the launch of the Environmental Sustainability Standards Guide to integrate sustainable development standards into national plans.

El-Said confirmed that all of these measures were reflected in Egypt's hosting of the COP27 climate change conference last February in Sharm El-Sheikh, to ensure the implementation of the green transition.

El-Said referred to the launch of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects under the President's auspices. This initiative focuses on the importance of addressing climate action and biodiversity through technological empowerment within the ongoing efforts for sustainable development in Egypt.

El-Said drew attention to the launch of a decent life initiative for Africa resilient to climate change, which aims to improve the quality of life in 30% of the most vulnerable African villages by 2030 in a climate-friendly manner, and the Friends of Greening National Investment Plans initiative in Africa and developing countries, which aims to increase the share of green projects in national investment plans.

Regarding the cooperation between Egypt and IsDB, El-Said said that the cooperation between the two sides resulted in many successful projects and that there is continuous cooperation in the field of training and capacity-building provided by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IITFC) and the various member institutions of the Bank Group.