Minister of Planning & Economic Development participates in the opening session of the conference “The Role of Cash Transfers in Increasing Investment and Achieving Sustainable Development”

The Egyptian state gives top priority to developing the labor market and increasing the competitiveness of the Egyptian worker: Says Hala El-Said

$31.4 billion worth of remittances from Egyptians abroad in 20/2021, with a growth rate of 13% compared to 19/2020, and 70% compared to 2014/13: Says Hala El-Said

Cairo on October 10, 2021
Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated on Sunday in the opening session of the conference “The Role of Cash Transfers in Increasing Investments and Achieving Sustainable Development” organized by the Ministry of State for Migration and Egyptians Abroad Affairs in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.

During her speech at the session, Dr. Hala El-Said referred to a set of proactive policies taken by the Egyptian state to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, out of keenness to achieve a balance between preserving the health of the citizen and continuing the wheel of economic activity, which was not an easy challenge.

 Therefore, the state has adopted a clear and deliberate plan targeting all social groups and sectors to mitigate the effects of the Corona epidemic.

The plan is based on several pillars, foremost of which is support for the affected sectors, such as the tourism, aviation, shipping, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), as well as support for the affected groups; by providing support to regular and irregular employment through the emergency fund; (The presidential grant that was scheduled for three months and then extended under the guidance of the President of the Republic for another three months).

The Egyptian government will also make use of the databases of about 6 million workers applying for the grant related to the repercussions of Corona, to develop appropriate training programs in preparation for creating suitable job opportunities for them.

El-Said referred to the “Noorat Baladak” initiative launched by the Ministries of Planning and Economic Development, Immigration and Egyptians Abroad Affairs, intending to create an updated and complete database with the numbers of workers returning from abroad and affected by the Corona pandemic, to provide them with job opportunities in the implemented labor-intensive infrastructure projects.
El-Said explained that within the framework of the initiative, a tripartite cooperation protocol was signed between the ministries of Planning and Economic Development, Immigration and Egyptians Abroad Affairs, and Trade and Industry with the aim of training and operating returnees from abroad and those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and integrating them into the Egyptian labor market, where requests for funding and training have already been received.

Moreover, 21 introductory seminars were organized for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency at the level of 21 governorates, on entrepreneurship skills (such as: Generate your business idea - start your business).

El-Said highlighted the increase in remittances to Egyptians abroad, which continued its growth and upward trend, to be estimated at $31.4 billion in 20/2021 (representing more than a third of the total foreign exchange sources in the last two years), achieving a growth rate of 13% compared to 2020/19. ($27.8 billion), with a growth rate of 70% compared to 2014/13 ($18.5 billion).

El-Said added that the state worked to revitalize the economy by increasing incomes and increasing investments in priority sectors, which included providing a stimulus package of about EGP 100 billion Egyptian (2% of GDP), in addition to adopting stimulus monetary and fiscal policies.

 The state has also expanded in following social protection measures, such as the national project for the development of the Egyptian countryside, “A Decent Life” in its first and second phases, to enhance the state’s efforts to localize sustainable development goals and achieve balanced regional development, which is one of the main pillars of Egypt’s Vision 2030.

El-Said added that the Egyptian state is increasing public investments by focusing on some promising sectors that represent a key pillar to drive growth in the coming stage, such as the sectors of health services and medical supplies, agriculture, food industries, communications, and information technology, construction and manufacturing, and manufacturing industries.

 In this context, the state aims to increase public investments, in a way that reflects the priorities imposed by the Corona crisis, especially the health and education sectors, as they are the main tool for development and building human capacities and the main entrance to the progress of society.





 The state also attaches great importance to the telecommunications sector, information technology, and digitization infrastructure, in the context of strengthening the trend towards digital transformation and intensifying investments in this field. 


El-Said stressed that the Egyptian state gives top priority to developing the labor market and increasing the competitiveness of the Egyptian worker both internally and externally within the framework of a more general and comprehensive approach to developing the human element and investing in people, especially in a young society in which the percentage of youth exceeds 65%.

This comes within the efforts to implement the structural reforms program to be implemented in the next phase, which represents the second phase of the economic and social reform program.

 The structural reforms program includes within its main pillars: working to increase the flexibility of the labor market, raising the efficiency of training, and what this requires of rearranging and integrating the technical education and vocational training system and developing human capital.



The Minister of Planning and Economic Development concluded her speech by referring to the role of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, which was established within the framework of the state's endeavor to launch innovative methods of financing development and strengthening partnerships with the private sector.