Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development probes mechanisms of green economy transformation for the private sector

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development held recently a video conferencing workshop to discuss mechanisms and criteria for the transition to a green economy.
Moreover, the ministry discussed executive steps to encourage the private sector to invest in green projects and adopt environmental sustainability practices.The workshop was held by representatives from the Ministries of Environment, Finance, Transport, Petroleum, the Export Development Fund, and The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI).Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, stressed the government's keenness to accelerate steps to integrate sustainable development with its various economic, social, and environmental dimensions into the planning process in a manner that devotes attention to the environmental dimension.He pointed out that the issuance of the first guide to "Standards of Environmental Sustainability", in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, is the first operational step towards integrating the green economy into development plans, stressing the need for the active participation of the private sector.Dr. Jamil Helmy reviewed the main features of the executive plan for implementing green economic tools, its role in supporting the state's efforts for green recovery, and the opportunities and incentives related to the private sector.Helmy addressed the objectives of green economic tools, including increasing the percentage of green private sector exports, increasing the percentage of green private investments, and increasing the number of private sector companies that obtained the certificate (ISO 50001).Helmy who is also acting as the General Supervisor of “Decent Life" at the Ministry of Planning, explained that the state pays great attention to implementing environmental sustainability standards in the national project for the development of the Egyptian countryside.
For her part, Dr. Samah Saleh, Advisor to the Minister of Environment, stated that the "Corona" pandemic has greatly affected economic activities, but it has a positive impact on the environment, stressing the need to provide incentives to encourage environmentally friendly products to stimulate investment in them.Sherine Al-Sharqawi, Assistant Minister of Finance, said that the ministry's role is to determine the impact of green incentives on the state's public treasury.Dr. Amani Al-Wasal, CEO of the Export Development Fund, explained that the current global trend is that products, especially those that are exported abroad, must comply with environmental requirements, for example, engineering and electronic products are not exported to some countries, without the "Energy Efficiency" certificate.The participants stressed the need to educate the private sector about the nature of environmentally friendly projects and products, and to continue consultations and meetings with private sector institutions, to get acquainted with their ideas for the incentives offered in this regard.