During her speech to the CEO's Organization: Minister of Planning and Economic Development: Egypt has a clear vision to achieve and localize the sustainable development goals

Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning & Economic Development:- The structural reforms program prepares the Egyptian economy for the post-pandemic stage

The transition to a green economy has become a top priority for the government

Egypt has the fastest growing entrepreneurship ecosystem in the MENA region

Dr. Hala El-Said Minister of Planning and Economic Development said that Egypt is interested in implementing comprehensive reforms at all levels, despite the repercussions that the country has experienced as a result of the Corona pandemic, but there are indeed positive results that have been achievedThis came during her speech before a delegation from the Chief Executives Organization (CEO), an organization founded in 1958 and a global community of 2,000 business leaders in 50 countries.El-Said referred to the measures and initiatives taken by the state to confront the epidemic, explaining that the Egyptian economy has become more resilient in the face of the epidemic and that Egypt has announced a program of structural reforms that will shape the Egyptian economy in the post-pandemic stage.El-Said explained that these initiatives include the first phase of the Egyptian economic and social reform program launched by the government in 2016, which comes within the framework of achieving the goals of Egypt's Vision 2030 and is in line with the goals of Africa's Agenda 2063.

On Egypt’s Vision 2030, El-Said said that it was carried out in a participatory manner, stressing that its goal is to present the country’s long-term strategic plan to achieve the principles and goals of sustainable development and solve widespread issues in the country not only at present but in the long term. She pointed out that Egypt's Vision 2030 is based on the principles of "comprehensive sustainable development" and "balanced regional development", and reflects the three dimensions of sustainable economic, social and environmental development.The Minister of Planning and Economic Development added that there is huge potential for both Egyptian and foreign investors and the private sector to support Egypt to achieve its ambitious vision, stressing that improving the infrastructure pillar is one of the main efforts of Egypt's Vision 2030 to stimulate the private sector and that the presence of high-quality infrastructure is also one of the most important indicators Sub-Global Competitiveness Report.El-Said emphasized that the success in implementing a national economic reform program led to an increase in the strength and flexibility of the economy, which allowed Egypt to become a larger player in the global trade system, and provided the opportunity to benefit from global growth, not just local growth.Concerning the Coronavirus pandemic, the Minister of Planning indicated that economic reforms have contributed to confronting external shocks and negative effects resulting from the pandemic, and enhancing the state’s ability to create opportunities within the framework of a new global economy whose features were formed in the context of that crisis, linked to unprecedented challenges and opportunities at the international level.
El-Said emphasized that the Egyptian economy has proven its resilience in the face of external shocks thanks to the adoption of well-coordinated fiscal and monetary policies and a set of well-studied institutional and legislative reforms, as well as the implementation of many proactive policies to confront the crisis. The minister emphasized that Egypt has become one of the few countries in the world capable of achieving positive growth in 2020, reaching 3.6%.El-Said also reviewed the current state of the economy, noting the state’s success in reducing the budget deficit, achieving a surplus in the trade balance and reducing the annual inflation rate from 23% in 2016 to 4.5% in March 2021, and foreign exchange reserves jumped to 40 billion dollars in April, to cover imports Services and goods for seven months, unemployment fell to 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020, and foreign direct investment increased in general. El-Said said that according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the United States was the third-largest source of foreign direct investment in Egypt during the 2018/2019 fiscal year after the United Kingdom and Belgium.


On the national program for structural reforms, El-Said explained that it focuses on raising the productive capacity and competitiveness of the economy and aims to achieve comprehensive, balanced, and sustainable growth, and change the structure of the economy by increasing the relative weight of three leading sectors: industry, agriculture, communications, and information technology.The Minister of Planning and Economic Development noted the legislative and institutional reforms, which include the new investment law, the industrial licensing law, the bankruptcy and exit from the market law, the small and micro enterprises development law, the competition protection law, and the microfinance law, referring to the amendments to the law regulating private sector investment in projects Infrastructure, services, and public utilities.
 “These amendments aim to further encourage the private sector and expand business areas, there is a joint committee that includes the Ministries of Planning and Finance to develop a plan for future projects that can be implemented as a form of partnership, “El-Said said.
She explained that public investments directed to the infrastructure sector reached during the past seven years EGP 1.7 trillion, exceeding $ 100 billion.Dr. Hala El-Said also referred to The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), as one of the main mechanisms for strengthening partnership with the private sector and creating investment opportunities in promising high-growth sectors, noting that the fund aims to maximize benefit from untapped assets in Egypt and achieve sustainable financial surpluses.During her speech, the minister explained that Egypt has the fastest growing entrepreneurship system in the Middle East and North Africa, noting that the government pays great attention to micro, small and medium enterprises, as they play a key role in promoting innovation and stimulating growth. She pointed out that Egypt jumped six places to rank 114 out of 190 countries in the Ease of Doing Business report for the year 2020 issued by the World Bank Group, compared to the position.