Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), participated in the second meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG), held on 23–24 April 2025. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, running from 21 to 26 April in Washington, D.C.
The Egyptian delegation to the G20 financial track included Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance; Rami Aboulnaga, CBE Deputy Governor for Monetary Stability; and Yasser Sobhi, Deputy Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies.
During the meetings, Abdalla addressed a range of pressing issues impacting emerging markets, including the risks posed by trade wars, disruptions to supply chains, declining foreign direct investment, heightened exchange rate volatility, and the global economic slowdown. He called for enhanced coordination and consensus among policymakers to mitigate these challenges and their negative effects.
The CBE Governor also highlighted key obstacles to development across Africa, particularly weak infrastructure, macroeconomic instability, and the high cost of capital.
Abdalla recommended mitigating the impact of global trade fragmentation on Africa by capitalising on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He stressed the importance of increasing the number of bankable projects to attract greater private investment into the continent.
In addition, Abdalla underscored the need to strengthen the lending capacity of multilateral development institutions through innovative initiatives such as blended finance and the redirection of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). He also highlighted the necessity of mobilising private capital at a larger scale, suggesting enhanced risk guarantees and the promotion of robust public-private partnerships.
It is worth noting that Egypt is participating in the G20 meetings as an invited country for the fifth time since the group’s inception and for the third consecutive year. Egypt took part in the 2023 meetings under India’s presidency and the 2024 meetings chaired by Brazil. Egypt is currently participating under the presidency of South Africa, which assumed the G20 chair on 1 December 2024 and will serve through November 2025.
