Egypt's Minister of Planning launches the Governorates Competitiveness Index

Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said has launched the Egyptian governorate competitiveness index, according to a statement on June 22nd.

This is the first integrated and multi-dimensional index launched to monitor the growth of the inclusive and long-term economy in the Egyptian governorates, the minister highlighted.

The index will present substantial evidence of the suitable investment environments in each governorate, in addition to the regional integration process. This will boost governorate competitiveness, she added.

During her speech at the opening session, El-Said noted that the index aims to identify the advantages and competitiveness of Egyptian governorates to fill in their development gaps.

It will act as a tool to assist government decision-makers in making decisions about local resource privatization to achieve balanced development, she added.

El-Said referred to the current crises facing countries, which impede the achievement of sustainable development goals under the 2030 Agenda.

She stressed that all countries need accurate scientific measures to follow up on the implementation of sustainable development plans at the local level. This is to ensure that these departments are actively involved in advancing growth and achieving comprehensive and healthy growth. 

This requires identifying the strengths and weaknesses of development policies in each administrative unit, according to El-Said 

El-Said confirmed that the Egyptian state pays increasing attention to localizing sustainable development goals. This is because of their supportive impact on inclusive and sustainable growth and balanced regional development. They are among the main pillars of Egypt's Vision 2030.

“In cooperation with all development partners, the state continues its efforts to develop and implement evidence-based policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals at the local level” El Said added.

Moreover, El-Said indicated that the launch of the governorate competitiveness index provides important evidence for the governorates, the appropriate environment for investment, and the process of regional integration to contribute to enhancing each governorate's competitiveness.

She added that the importance of launching the Egyptian Governorates Competitiveness Index comes as it aims to identify the advantages and competitive capabilities of the Egyptian governorates. 

The Minister of Planning stated that the state is working to mobilize available resources, raise the efficiency of spending, and manage public investment to enhance development efforts, noting that the Ministry of Planning has developed a financing equation to ensure fair and objective distribution of public investments between the different governorates.

Also, El-Said indicated the willingness of the Ministry of Planning, with the support of the United Nations Development Program, to participate in an important event to be held during the high-level political forum for the year 2023 to review the Egyptian experience in the process of preparing voluntary reports for the localization of sustainable development goals at the governorate level.

El-Said announced the near completion of the preparation and launch of the second version of the voluntary report for the localization of the sustainable development goals at the level of 27 Egyptian governorates. This report is prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Furthermore, El-Said also referred to the national initiative for smart green projects that are under the auspices of H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, and are supervised by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

El-Said also referred to the launch of the Performance Excellence Incentives Initiative as a motivational initiative at the governorate level that includes a set of criteria. She explained that the Institute of National Planning is responsible for the evaluation process for the initiative to ensure a chain of success and motivation.

She pointed out Egypt's readiness to host a "regional technical center" under the name "Cairo Center for the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals" in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Development Program, under the umbrella of the "United Nations Alliance (Local 2030) targeting Enhancing international cooperation and exchanging experiences in the field of capacity building, preparing the methodologies and mechanisms necessary to localize the sustainable development goals, strengthening partnerships, and providing support to local and national governments, civil society, academic institutions, international and regional organizations.

The Minister of Planning reviewed the national project for Egyptian countryside development: the Decent Life Initiative. This is one of the largest comprehensive and integrated development experiences and initiatives in the world, whether in terms of financing or beneficiaries.

In the conclusion of her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said stressed that the effectiveness of launching the Egyptian governorates competitiveness index is of particular importance in light of what it aims to clarify the economic, social, and political importance of launching the index in Egypt, review its methodology and various pillars, and provide recommendations to the governorates based on the results of the index while drawing a roadmap for the steps to ensure the sustainability of the index calculation and to enhance the competitiveness of the governorates.