During her visit to the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah: The Minister of Planning and Economic Development meets the CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Mr. Ayman El-Sigini, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, to discuss the position of issues of cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Corporation.
 This came during her visit to the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah.
 The meeting was attended by Dr. Nada Masoud, Economic Advisor to the Minister of Planning, Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Relations Department at the Ministry of Planning, and Mr. Kamal Nasr, supervisor of the Technical Office of the Minister of Planning.Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, praised the constructive development criteria based on which the Foundation selects the projects it finances, primarily contributing to economic development, creating job opportunities, and contributing to increasing exports. El-Said added that this was evident through the selection of projects in which the Foundation contributes to the Arab Republic of Egypt, especially the contribution to the establishment of the Sharkia Sugar Project, which aims to bridge the gap between supply and demand for white sugar in Egypt, through a contribution of $52.8 million.


El-Said also congratulated on the approaching completion of the settlement of the Sharkia Sugar Company, stressing the keenness of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development to follow up on reaching a satisfactory settlement for all parties to the project, looking forward to the launch of this company to production in this promising field in Egypt.El-Said also stressed the importance of the strategic partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. El-Said praised the leading role played by the Corporation, the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, in supporting economic development in member states by providing financing for private sector projects.El-Said also expressed pride in the distinguished development partnership with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector as a leading multilateral development financial institution in the field of Islamic finance that seeks to stimulate economic performance by developing and supporting the private sector through financing companies and projects with a feasible and sustainable development impact.El-Said expressed her aspiration for cooperation between the Foundation and Egypt's Sovereign Fund for Investment and Development, explaining that the fund seeks to contribute to achieving the development goals of the state through managing many assets to maximize returns from them, and designing distinct investment products aimed at motivating local, regional and international investors to invest in priority sectors.In the same context, El-Said indicated that the Ministry of Supply (the Internal Trade Authority) has identified four strategic warehouses in the governorates of Sharkia, Suez, Luxor, and Fayoum to be used as strategic stores for storing food commodities. El-Said clarified that as part of the state’s approach to partnership with the private sector, the agency has offered these warehouses to major local private sector investors in the field, to establish and manage them following globally applied quality standards for this type of warehouse.El-Said added that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt has made alliances with these investors to invest in these warehouses with a minority share (20-30%), provided that this is done through an investment platform that contributes to this offering as the first stage in addition to the upcoming stages.El-Said explained that it is planned that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt will participate as a major investor in that platform and invite other financial investors to join to increase the participation of the private sector.


Within the framework of the most prominent developments regarding the existing areas of cooperation between Egypt and the Foundation and the position of joint projects, Dr. Hala El-Said discussed with Mr. El-Sigini the possibilities of expanding cooperation with the Foundation. El-Said referred to the discussions that took place on the sidelines of the forty-sixth meeting of the Bank's Board of Governors regarding mechanisms to stimulate the role of the private sector and the establishment of investment partnerships between the Corporation and Egyptian institutions and to maximize the benefit from the mechanisms provided by the Corporation.El-Said also praised the technical support provided by the Corporation to qualify the necessary cadres, by holding a training course for the employees working at the Ministry of Finance to introduce the concept of Sukuk and its mechanisms and the most important global experiences, especially in light of the accumulated experiences and successful experiences of the Corporation in this field in several member states, including the Maldives and Malaysia.El-Said also discussed the possibility of benefiting from the activities and programs implemented by the Foundation for the economic empowerment of women and providing support and financing for its projects in several member states, including the (Brave Women) program in several countries, including Yemen, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, which can be considered for use in the state's plans to achieve economic empowerment for women.At the end of the meeting, El-Said affirmed the desire to overcome the obstacles facing the investments and projects in which the Foundation contributes, because of that contribution of an effective role in supporting projects with a large potential development return. El-Said stressed the importance of meeting the requirements of management efficiency and financial sustainability and following the rules of governance and transparency in these projects.