The Senate Approves the Draft Law of the Economic and Social Development Plan for Fiscal Year 2025/2026

In a plenary session with H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation

 

The Senate Approves the Draft Law of the Economic and Social Development Plan for Fiscal Year 2025/2026

 

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation extends her thanks to the President of the Senate and Senate members for the rich discussions on the development plan for the new fiscal year.

 

In response to the inquiries of members of the Honorable Council:

 

Al-Mashat: The 2025/2026 plan adheres to a ceiling of public investments of EGP 1.16 trillion to rationalize spending and reduce debt burdens… Priority is given to projects with high implementation rates.

 

  ⁠The government was keen to meet the financial requirements of the health sector to fulfill the commitments of the Universal Health Insurance Project in the 2025/2026 plan.

 

The private sector is a top priority in the coming period to lead development efforts and attract local and foreign investments.

 

⁠More than $14.5 billion in concessional development financing for the private sector in 5 years, and $3.9 billion for renewable energy projects under the “NWFE” program.

 

The Senate, chaired by Counselor Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek, approved the draft economic and social development plan for the fiscal year 2025/2026. This approval came after H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, presented the targets and key features of the upcoming fiscal year’s plan before the Senate in a session attended by Counselor Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication.

 

In this context, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat extended her gratitude to Counselor Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek, Senate President, and the members of the Senate, for their efforts in establishing the pillars of democracy and constructive discussions of the draft laws and various topics related to the state’s public policy. She also thanked Dr. Hany Sarie El-Din, Chairman of the Financial, Economic and Investment Affairs Committee in the Senate, as well as the heads of the specialized committees and the parliamentary party representatives, for the rich and productive discussions on the draft plan over the past week, emphasizing that the valuable remarks made by the honorable members were taken into consideration within the framework of the integration between the Senate and the government for the effective implementation of economic and social development plans.

 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat was keen to respond to the inquiries of the MPs regarding the draft law of the plan, confirming that the 2025/2026 plan prioritizes human development and meets the requirements of the health sector, particularly in terms of continuing the implementation of the Universal Health Insurance Project.

 

H.E. affirmed the commitment to the public investment ceiling of EGP 1.16 trillion in the 2025/2026 plan, compared to expected investments of around EGP 1 trillion in the 2024/2025 fiscal year, in order to rationalize public spending, reduce the burden of debt arising from servicing domestic and external public debt, and to provide broader opportunities for the private sector to participate in development efforts. Therefore, priority is given to projects with high implementation rates, noting that private investments are expected to increase to around EGP 1.94 trillion, representing approximately 63% of total investments, compared to 37% for public investments.

 

Al-Mashat emphasized that the plan was prepared using new mechanisms by qualified personnel not only from the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation but also from other ministries. These cadres are capable of translating all the titles and international technical details into the plan,  explaining that next year’s plan will witness a difference as it will be a binding plan for three years, noting the “Performance Platform” that will be used to follow up on the plan’s implementation, performance indicators, and targets.

 

H.E. highlighted the keenness of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to increase efforts in social protection and human development, whether through the development plan or the state’s general budget, so the new budget includes an increase in allocations for the “Takaful and Karama” program.

 

Al-Mashat also addressed the government's priority in developing the private sector through investment-stimulating procedures. Over the past five years, more than $14.5 billion has been provided to large, medium and small private sector companies and entrepreneurship, in addition to $3.9 billion in concessional financing has been provided to the private sector for the implementation of renewable energy projects over the past two years.

 

H.E. also explained that the Egyptian government is focusing on the private sector, as all the government’s financial and investment procedures, along with macroeconomic stability included in the structural reform program, aim to increase private sector participation across several sectors, such as new and renewable energy, indicating that foreign investments directed toward this sector are very large, as well as the ready-made garment sector as a promising sector, especially with international protectionist measures, food security, and manufacturing.