Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, witnessed on Wednesday the launch of the Egyptian Economic Monitor Report 2021 by the World Bank. It highlights the wide-range impact of the government’s digital transformation and the most prominent macroeconomic indicators.
Marina Weiss, Regional Director of the World Bank for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti; Nader Mohamed, Regional Director for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA); and several officials from the two ministries and the World Bank, also participated in the event.
The World Bank report indicates that the Egyptian economy shows resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, as macroeconomic stability and the reforms witnessed by the energy sector during the past years have enhanced the ability to face challenges. The economy is expected to improve gradually, as growth rates are expected to return to certain pre-pandemic levels, reaching 5.5% in FY 2021/2022. The report also highlighted the digital transformation in the country, with Egypt’s increasing adoption of digital technologies and a growth in online services to implement the digital transformation strategy.
Al-Mashat said that the ongoing development cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the World Bank Group includes 15 projects worth $5.5bn, in various sectors, including education, health, transportation, social solidarity, petroleum, housing, sanitation, and development. In 2021, development financing agreements worth $1.4bn were signed in the sectors of supporting the comprehensive health insurance system, financing development policies, developing Egypt’s railways, managing pollution and combating the repercussions of climate change in Greater Cairo. The ministry has matched the development financing of the World Bank Group with the sustainable development goals.
She noted that the Ministry of International Cooperation, in coordination with all national authorities, is preparing for future Qatari partnerships with many development partners, including the World Bank Group. There will be focus on formulating a new strategy by paying attention to these aspects: improving work environments, enhancing the role of the private sector, especially to create more jobs and develop the outputs of investments in human capital, as well as enhancing cooperation in the climate field, especially regarding adaptation and alleviation projects.
With regard to joint development cooperation between Egypt and the International Finance Corporation, the arm of the World Bank for financing the private sector, Al-Mashat stated that the current portfolio amounts to $1.3bn in multiple sectors, explaining that the ministry has matched the development finances of the International Finance Corporation in the period from 2016. -2020 with the Sustainable Development Goals. This showed that 44% of the funds were directed to the eighth goal of sustainable development: decent work and economic growth, 38% to the seventh goal: clean and affordable energy, 7% to the second goal: food security, and the same for the ninth goal: Infrastructure.
She explained that the ministry has matched development finances with the sustainable development goals for the year 2021 and that the ongoing portfolio of the Ministry of International Cooperation includes 372 projects in various sectors of the state and the private sector, with a value of $26.5bn. The most sustainable development goals that have acquired development finances are the ninth goal related to infrastructure: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, with $5.9bn in financing, constituting 22.3% of the total current portfolio. Second, the sixth goal: clean water and sanitation, with $5.3bn in financing, constituting 20.3% of the current portfolio. Third, the seventh goal: clean, affordable energy, with a value of $4.6bn, which constitutes 17.5% of the current portfolio.
For his part, Amr Talaat said that nearly 120 government services have been launched on the Digital Egypt Platform, within the packages of catering, documentation, traffic, courts, social security, and civil status services. He pointed out that the Egyptian state is keen on accelerating the pace of digital transformation, adopting modern technologies for performance governance and enabling the government to efficiently manage its resources.
He explained that Egypt was among the high-performing countries in the GOVTECH development index for 2020, as well as among the top 10 developing countries in digital inclusion. It went up by eight tanks in the network readiness index during the year. In addition, it ranked higher by 55 positions in the “Government Readiness for Artificial Intelligence” index from 2019 to 2020.
He added that a plan is implemented to reformulate the role of Egypt Post and develop its branches, which extends to more than 4000 post offices throughout the country to become an outlet for Egypt’s digital services and financial inclusion. He referred to the ministry’s efforts in developing the information infrastructure, which resulted in a 7-fold increase in the average fixed internet speed. Moreover, Egypt’s ranking advanced by more than 35 places in Africa to become among the top three countries in Africa in the average fixed internet speed, according to a report by the global company Ookla. He highlighted the ministry’s participation in the presidential initiative, Haya Karima, which is being implemented in 4,500 villages to raise the efficiency of the information infrastructure in the villages.
Nader Mohamed said the Egyptian economy is doing a great job, as Egypt is one of the few countries that have not seen a decline in growth rates during the pandemic, expecting Egypt to be one of the few emerging countries that will be able to go back to pre-pandemic growth levels.
“It is expected that Egypt will return to the growth path it was before the pandemic, assuming that the situation gradually improves,” said Marina Weiss.
The meeting witnessed a brief presentation of the annual report launched by the Ministry for 2021, under the title “Effective Development Cooperation to Build a Better Future”. It revealed the development funding agreed on with various development partners, which amounted to $10.2bn, including $8.7bn for various state sectors, and $1.5bn for the private sector.
