On behalf of the Prime Minister: The Minister of Planning and Economic Development participates in the “Global Leaders Investment” Summit

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated recently on behalf of the Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, in the “Global Leaders Investment” Summit entitled "International Production and Production Capacity: National Strategies and Global Cooperation".


The Global Leaders Investment” Summit was held on the sidelines of the 7th World Investment Forum, organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, virtually from 18 to 22 October, under the theme “Investing in Sustainable Development.”

In her speech on behalf of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Dr. Hala El-Said emphasized the importance of the global community’s dealing with the new production environment at the world level, which has witnessed a great change, with its connection to sustainable recovery plans and achieving sustainable development goals, especially with the presence of fewer than 10 years of implementing the 2030 Agenda.

She added that the Corona epidemic had already weighed on Africa, adding that UNCTAD estimates that recovery in Africa will cost about $ 154 billion, in addition to the annual financing gap for Africa's Sustainable Development Goals of $ 200 billion.

She added that no country can face these challenges alone, explaining that the summit provides an opportunity to strengthen national strategies and global cooperation to discuss how to improve production capabilities.

El-Said asserted Egypt's full commitment to implement an ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program that addresses economic, monetary, and legislative challenges.

 The program focuses on enhancing investment and the business environment, following up on that the program adopted by the Egyptian government in 2016 contributed to improving all economic indicators and enhancing the resilience of the Egyptian economy.

 El-Said explained that this was reflected in the high GDP growth, the transformation of the primary deficit into a surplus, and the decrease in both inflation and unemployment.

Dr. Hala El-Said added that the economic reform program gave the necessary financial space to bear the economic, social, and health repercussions of the Covid-19 epidemic, which made Egypt one of the few countries that achieved positive economic growth amid the epidemic.

In her speech on behalf of the Prime Minister, El-Said added that the investment policy in Egypt has developed significantly, to keep Egypt the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in Africa last year according to the World Investment Report issued by UNCTAD for the year 2021, despite the slowdown in the global economy and the decline in global foreign direct investment flows.

El-Said explained that Egypt was able to show during this year that the challenges posed by the epidemic will not prevent it from moving forward with its progress, but rather will increase the determination to continue with reform and sustainable recovery.

 El-Said indicated that the government is pursuing a second phase of economic reforms by launching the National Program for Structural Reform (NPSR) for three years, which requires well-directed reforms at the structural and legislative levels, targeting the real sector and focusing on enhancing the business climate, with the objectives of stimulating investments in productive industries that provide job opportunities.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development added that the National Structural Reform Program (NPSR) focuses on diversifying the production structures of three main priority sectors, namely industry, agriculture, communications, and information technology, to achieve sustainable growth and create decent and productive job opportunities in line with the eighth goal of the sustainable development goals.  

In the same context, El-Said explained that Egypt is focusing heavily on localizing manufacturing activities in some industries, including pharmaceuticals, agricultural industries, communications products, transportation requirements, household appliances, and the furniture industry.

This is through further expansions in the establishment of industrial zones, pointing to taking advantage of changes in global supply chains to reach new markets in which Egyptian products enjoy competitive advantages.

El-Said stressed the Egyptian state's determination regarding the topic of this year's forum on investment in sustainable development, explaining that the Egyptian government is working to accelerate the pace of green recovery and climate action that puts nature at its core and ensures the equitable benefit of all economic sectors.


El-Said also stressed the existence of a clear vision for integrating environmental dimensions into the Egyptian development plan through investing in green projects such as tertiary sewage treatment projects, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation, explaining that 30% of the government's current investment plan is green projects, and it is targeted to increase the percentage to 50% by the fiscal year 2024/2025.

The Minister of Planning indicated that the Egyptian government recently launched "Environmental Sustainability Criteria" to measure progress in financing activities that have a positive impact on the environment, for government agencies and the private sector as well.

El-Said added that the world today depends mainly on partnerships and international cooperation provided by institutions such as UNCTAD, pointing out that the Egyptian government is benefiting from effective partnerships with the private sector, especially through The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE).

El-Said confirmed Egypt's active participation in the activities of the United Nations system, following up that, in cooperation with UNCTAD and four other United Nations organizations, the Egyptian government is implementing a joint project with the United Nations Resident Coordinator on the "Strategy for Financing the Sustainable Development Goals in Egypt".

The 7th World Investment Forum discusses the challenges related to investment and development to achieve a rapid and comprehensive recovery after the “Covid-19” crisis.

The Second Global Leaders Investment” Summit for 2021 also addresses the challenges arising from new technologies and the new industrial revolution and its impact on international production and building productive capacities.

The summit was attended by Ms. Rebecca Greenspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Mr. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Bishr Al-Khasawneh, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Mr. Imran Khan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Pakistan, and Mr. Aziz Akhannouch, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Morocco and Mr. Borg Brende, President of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Peter Robinson, President and CEO of the United States Council on International Business (USCIB), Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, Mr. Roberto Marquez, Chairman and CEO of Natura & Co Group, Brazil, and Mr. Hans Paul Burkner , Global President Emeritus, Boston Consulting Group.