Minister of Planning & Economic Development holds extensive meetings to boost cooperation between Egypt and IsDB

Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr. Hala El-Said held extensive meetings and activities to revitalize Egypt's role in the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and boost cooperation between Egypt and the bank. This comes within her role as the Governor of Egypt at the IsDB. 
During those meetings, Dr. Hala El-Said reviewed the development experience of Egypt and the implementation of the first phase of the national program for economic and social reforms. She also showcased the structural reforms and the set of legislative and institutional reforms adopted by the state during the past few years, and the role of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) in financing development and strengthening partnership with the private sector.

El-Said held the first meeting with Engineer Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), one of the institutions of the IsDB, to discuss collaboration between Egypt and the corporation.

During the meeting, El-Said clarified that the total amount provided by the Corporation to Egypt since its establishment in 2008 until May 2021 amounted to about $12.5 billion to finance the import of petroleum and its products, in addition to food commodities and other products.


El-Said pointed to the good rate at which the Corporation’s financing program was implemented in favor of Egypt in 2020, despite the conditions of the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, as the Corporation financed the supply of strategic goods for the benefit of Egypt within the framework of the two Murabaha framework agreements signed on September 6, 2018.

 El-Said also praised the ITFC's efforts and keenness to prepare for the 2021 program, which was signed in January 2021 (remotely) under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and in the presence of the Ministers of International Cooperation, Petroleum, and Mineral Resources, Supply and Internal Trade.
 The program includes providing $700 million to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and $400 million to the General Authority for Supply Commodities. An initiative (in international trade) was launched to empower women in the field of small and micro-enterprises.

The second meeting was with Mr. Osama Abdul Rahman Al-Qaisi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, to study aspects of cooperation and coordination in some strategic topics.

The meeting included a presentation of the Corporation's operations in Egypt, which amounted to $6.6 billion, represented in covering operations related to import and export, credit service on exports, and securing foreign investments.


The meeting also discussed the Corporation's plan in Egypt, which included mobilizing more insurance and credit support for infrastructure projects and the strategic commodities sector, as well as developing the relationship with Egyptian banks in financing trade and export credit.

In early July, Dr. Hala El-Said met with Mrs. Mai Babiker Al-Taher, Director of the Regional Office of the Islamic Development Bank in Cairo at the Ministry of Planning headquarters.

During this meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said expressed her pride in the distinguished development partnership with the IsDB over many decades, which has so far resulted in the financing of 338 projects with total credits of $12.7 billion, of which 287 projects have been completed, with a total amount of $9.7 billion.


 Currently, 51 projects amounting to $3 billion are being implemented in the fields of industry and mining, energy, finance, health, education, and various other fields, as Egypt ranks third among the top ten countries that benefit from the credits of the Islamic Bank Group.

The last meeting was held between Dr. Hala El-Said and Mr. Ayman Al-Sigini, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector of the IsDB at the headquarters of the Ministry of Planning. El-Said affirmed her pride in Egypt’s contribution to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), which amounts to about $25 million.

The minister praised the leading role played by the institution in supporting economic development in member countries through direct financing operations, asset management, crowdfunding, the development of Islamic capital markets, and the provision of financial advisory services.

El-Said stressed that the organization's objectives converge with the priorities of the Egyptian state in enhancing the participation of the private sector in development efforts.