Deputy Minister Inaugurates Second Meeting of Coordination Committee for Country Program with OECD

Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, inaugurated the second meeting of the Coordination Committee for the Country Program for Egypt in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

The meeting was attended by Carlos Conde, Head of the Middle East and Africa Division at the International Relations Department of the Organisation, project coordinators from the Organisation’s team, as well as representatives from national entities and leaders from the Ministry of Planning.

The meeting aimed to monitor developments in the implementation of the Country Program’s projects and review achievements during the previous period. Discussions also focused on the future roadmap for the projects.

Dr. Ahmed Kamali highlighted the strategic importance of the Country Program and emphasized the need to maximize the Organisation’s expertise in formulating policies that support comprehensive and sustainable economic growth. He stressed the importance of building a flexible economy capable of facing shocks, not only through technical support, information provision, and data but also through active participation in technical committees, leveraging best practices and international experiences, and policy-making. He noted that the program, with its five pillars, supports the implementation of the National Program for Structural Reforms and Egypt’s Vision 2030.

Dr. Kamali emphasized the necessity for effective Egyptian participation in the ongoing review of project objectives and achievements within the framework of activating projects initiated during the program’s first year. He highlighted upcoming reports related to the activation of these projects, including the report on green growth policy review in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, the report on entrepreneurship and innovation support in collaboration with the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprise Development Agency, the report on artificial intelligence policy review in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the report on governance arrangements review in collaboration with the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.

Dr. Ahmed Kamali concluded the session by emphasizing the importance of continued fruitful cooperation and close coordination between the Organisation’s departments and all national entities partnering in the program to achieve the desired results. He also highlighted Egypt’s pivotal role in the Middle East and North Africa region in sharing experiences and best practices in policy-making with other countries in the region.

Dr. Heba Youssef, Director of the Country Program Monitoring Unit at the Ministry, in collaboration with Charlotte Gomans, the program coordinator at the Organisation, presented a brief overview of the progress made in various projects under the Country Program and the expected outputs from these projects. They also represented Egypt in the Organisation’s committees for effective participation in decision-making processes and knowledge exchange with member countries.

Representatives from all concerned Organisation departments participated in this meeting. On the Egyptian side, all beneficiary national entities participated, including the Central Bank of Egypt, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, the Institute of Governance and Sustainable Development, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, and the National Council for Women. Organisation experts, along with their counterparts from Egyptian national entities, presented progress in projects and future steps within the framework of project activation.