Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met on Sunday evening with Ferid Belhaj, Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa, and his accompanying delegation, in preparation for launch of the new country strategy between Egypt and the World Bank Group.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked the World Bank delegation for their efforts to finalise the new country strategy between Egypt and the World Bank Group for the period 2023-2027. Madbouly also expressed the government’s appreciation for the extended partnership and cooperation relations with the World Bank, praising the bank’s role in financing development projects in various vital fields that have been implemented in Egypt over the past decades.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the government is committed to giving way to enhancing the role of the private sector in economic fields.
Madbouly added that he holds various meetings with representatives of the private sector to exchange views on different economic policies and to overcome difficulties they may face.
He highlighted the importance of establishing the Supreme Council for Investment under the presidency of the President of the Republic in order to boost the investment climate in Egypt.
For his part, the World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Ferid Belhaj expressed the bank’s pride in the partnership relations with Egypt, stressing that the launch of the Country Partnership programme with Egypt is a message to show support in these difficult economic conditions the world is going through.
The meeting touched on the developments of the ongoing crisis in Sudan, where the Prime Minister presented efforts made by the Egyptian state to facilitate the crossing of Sudanese and to provide them with all possible services.
Also, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said with a delegation from the World Bank headed by the Regional Director for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region Nadir Mohammed to discuss the possible support to the Egyptian government in light of the new country cooperation 2023-2027, and the priorities of the government.
El-Said indicated the launch of the “Environmental Sustainability Standards Guide” launched by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in Cooperation with the Ministry of Environment that aims to turn the budget and the investment plan green and targets 50% of green projects by fiscal year 2024/25.
She announced that the Egyptian private sector is preparing to launch “private green bonds” valued at around $120-200m.
