Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: We are working on preparing the executive regulations of the Planning Law in line with the new vision of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation.

During the Discussion of the Economic and Social Development Plan in the Planning and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives

 

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: We are working on preparing the executive regulations of the Planning Law in line with the new vision of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation.

 

EGP 1,158 billion is the ceiling for public investments for the upcoming fiscal year, with precise governance mechanisms to ensure the implementation of priority projects.

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cuts global growth forecasts due to protectionist trade policies.

 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, continued her review of the economic and social development plan for the upcoming fiscal year before the specialized committees in the House of Representatives, where she held a meeting with members of the Plan and Budget Committee, headed by MP Fakhry El-Feky, to discuss the plan's pillars and the current economic context at both local and global levels.

 

At the beginning, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat addressed the agreement between the United States and China regarding tariffs, describing the agreement as a positive development that could reduce global economic tensions, uncertainty, and the negative impact on global growth.

 

Al-Mashat added that geopolitical turmoil in the region is ongoing, affecting navigation through the Suez Canal, there are also repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war, despite the possibility of reaching a a truce soon, noting that these tensions have affected global financial markets and boosted expectations of inflationary pressures, with inflation forecasts in the U.S. reaching 6.7%, the highest rates since the 1980s, which could affect the move towards monetary easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

 

H.E. stated the Economic and Social Development Plan monitored these developments to assess the potential impact of global developments on economic growth projections, noting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its economic growth projections during the recent spring meetings in Washington, lowering them by 0.5% and 1.5% under different scenarios if trade tensions persist or widen globally.

 

Furthermore, H.E. said that despite the reduction in economic growth for many countries in different regions of the world, by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, both institutions predicted an increase in economic growth for Egypt, in light of continued fiscal consolidation plans and reforms that will enhance macroeconomic stability.

 

Al-Mashat presented mechanisms to maximize economic development through the role of the ministry in promoting human development, entrepreneurship, industrial development, and other sectors, noting that with the implementation of the new Planning Law, detailed executive plans will be established for each sector, explaining that the unified public finance law will be applied starting from the upcoming fiscal year, and we are working on issuing the executive regulations of the General Planning Law, in line with the new vision of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation.

 

She added that with the executive regulations, the objectives of the General State Planning Law will be realized, in line with the Unified Public Finance Law, and achieving harmony and integration between fiscal policies and the economic and social development plan, including the implementation of the program and performance system.

 

She continued that the plan for the upcoming fiscal year was prepared according to current planning tools, but with the start of preparing the medium-term plan, maximum benefits from both laws will be realized.

 

H.E. also addressed financing for development, either through Title VI of the budget or concessional development financing from abroad, noting that the ministry aims to support the state's efforts to make the private sector the main driver of development in the country.

 

She noted that many of the development projects that are currently coming to fruition are funded by concessional development financing. For example, the recently inaugurated West Port Said silo was laid in 2021 with concessional development financing, and the NERIC train manufacturing project is funded by the Korean side with concessional development financing to manufacture 320 train cars for the second and third lines of the Greater Cairo Metro.

 

Moreover, H.E. spoke about the national narrative for economic development and its role in changing the pattern of economic growth in Egypt toward tradable and exportable sectors with high added value. This narrative includes four main sectors: macroeconomic stability, foreign direct investment, industrial development, and labor market and employment, explaining that the ministry is working on discussing the narrative in its various pillars with different ministries to launch it in June.

 

She transitioned to discuss structural reforms and intensive coordination with the European Union to obtain the second phase of the macroeconomic support mechanism and budget support worth €4 billion.

 

The Minister highlighted that the The Integrated National Financing Strategy, which provides an integrated national framework for sustainability, development finance and resource mobilization in line with the Sustainable Development Goals in the framework of Egypt's Vision 2030 and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, was launched to identify financing gaps and improve resource allocation to priority sectors, and the strategy aims to address the financing gap for seven main sectors: Health, education, social protection, water and sanitation, transportation, climate change, and women's empowerment.

 

H.E. also noted that the plan for 2025/2026 was prepared according to an integrated methodology recently developed by the ministry to prepare the plan,  based on fundamental pillars starting from the goals and initiatives of Egypt Vision 2030, in line with the government's work program (24/2025 - 26/2027), as well as the spatial and sectoral strategies and plans, within the framework of the effective implementation of efforts to stimulate the role of the private sector in sustainable development in its three dimensions - economic, social and environmental - in accordance with the State Ownership Policy Document.

 

Al-Mashat pointed out that the government is moving forward with implementing public investment governance procedures, with the aim of directing public investments to priority projects that support the state's efforts to achieve sustainable development according to a comprehensive development perspective, explaining that the ceiling for public investments in the next fiscal year is about EGP 1.158 trillion, emphasizing that the ministry is working to accurately apply the ceiling and follow up with ministries in implementation to ensure the implementation of the projects included in the plan.

 

H.E. Further reviewed the components of GDP growth for the first and second quarters of the current fiscal year, which increased to record 3.5% and 4.3%, with strong support from non-oil manufacturing, communications and information technology, and tourism, which is expected to record the largest number of tourists by the end of the current fiscal year, explaining that when we look at these developments, we see that they were achieved after the economic correction measures implemented since March 2024.

 

H.E. also highlighted the positive developments in terms of remittances from Egyptians abroad, which recorded more than USD 32 bn in 11 months, and expects GDP at current prices to reach EGP 20.4 tn by the end of the next fiscal year, compared to EGP 17.2 tn at the end of the current fiscal year.