H.E. Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Holds Bilateral Meetings with the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and the Chairman of ACWA Power to Discuss Areas of Joint Cooperation
25 June 2025
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat discusses the activation of the Letter of Intent on “Egypt's Future of Growth Accelerator” with the World Economic Forum.
Talks held with ACWA Power Chairman on the company’s expanding renewable energy investments under Egypt’s NWFE program.
As part of her
participation in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New
Champions, held in Tianjin from 23 to 26 June, focused on agile &
innovative economic policies to manage evolving global trends, H.E. Dr. Rania
A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International
Cooperation, held two high-level meetings with Ms. Saadia Zahidi, Managing
Director at the World Economic Forum (WEF), and Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder
and Chairman of ACWA Power.
During her meeting
with the WEF Managing Director, the two sides discussed the activation of the
Letter of Intent signed in January 2025 during the World Economic Forum in
Davos. The agreement aims to develop “Egypt's Future of Growth Accelerator “.
This initiative supports national efforts to advance inclusive economic
development and draws on the expertise and insights of the WEF’s Centre for the
New Economy and Society.
Discussions also
covered the ongoing collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the
technical teams at the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and
International Cooperation to operationalize the Accelerator in the coming period.
H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat
also reviewed the integration between the proposed Accelerator and Egypt’s
soon-to-be-launched “Advancing Economic Development in Egypt: Reforms for
Growth, Jobs & Resilience” narrative. This narrative promotes a transition
towards a private-sector-led growth model, focused on tradable and
export-oriented sectors, enhancing foreign direct investment, and supporting
industrial localization across the country.
In a separate
meeting, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat met with Mr. Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, to
discuss the latest developments in the company’s renewable energy investments
in Egypt. The Minister emphasized that ACWA Power is a key partner in the
implementation of renewable energy projects under the energy pillar of Egypt’s
NWFE (Nexus of Water, Food and Energy) platform. She highlighted the central
role of international partnerships and blended concessional finance in
unlocking greater private sector participation—both domestic and
international—in Egypt’s green energy transition.
H.E. the Minister
reiterated the Egyptian government’s commitment to creating an enabling
environment for the private sector, enhancing its contribution to national
development efforts across all sectors. She underscored that regulatory and
legislative reforms are underway to strengthen private sector engagement, while
simultaneously improving the governance and efficiency of public investments to
achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth.
The Ministry of
Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation recently published
the second progress report on the NWFE program. Under its energy pillar, the
program aims to add 10 GW of new renewable energy capacity, backed by
approximately $10 billion in investments, while phasing out 5 GW of
fossil-fuel-based electricity generation by 2028.
Over the past two
and a half years, Egypt has successfully mobilized $4 billion in concessional
financing to support 4.2 GW of renewable energy projects. These efforts involve
key global and regional partners, including Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, Masdar,
Infinity Power, Norway’s Scatec, UAE-based AMEA Power (a subsidiary of Al
Nowais Group), as well as local developers such as Orascom Construction and
Hassan Allam Utilities.