(AFP Photo)
The World Bank Group (WBG) is preparing to form a new partnership strategy with Egypt to guide the group’s engagement in the country for the next five years. The group stated that the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) was launched on Wednesday in collaboration with the Egyptian government.
The CPS will be a joint strategy between the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and will be processed over the coming six months.
The World Bank stated that the strategy aims to support Egypt’s development priorities in the new economic and political context with the strategy of the WBG in the region.
“We are committed to continue supporting Egypt’s effort in addressing its current development challenges and we look forward to listening to various stakeholders on how best we can support Egypt,” Hartwig Schafer, the World Bank country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, said.
“Egypt has a unique set of advantages that qualifies it to become a powerful emerging economy,” Schafer added.
IFC country manager for Egypt Nada Shousha mentioned that this consultation is an important milestone in the group’s partnership. She pointed out that through this strategy the group will be able to identify the challenges and the development priorities that should be focused on during the coming years.
World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said Sunday, during a lecture at Brown University, that the non-inclusive growth in Egypt, Turkey, Thailand and Chile has pushed people to take to the streets and to demand a greater share of their country’s economic growth.
Earlier last month, Dimitris Tsitsiragos, vice president of IFC for Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, said that the IFC is keen on forming a partnership with the Egyptian government and the private sector to establish projects in the field of alternative energy in the industrial sector and logistics service development in the coming months.
Tsitsiragos announcement came during his meeting with Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry and Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour.
The World Bank portfolio in Egypt includes 24 projects, with a total commitment of $4.6bn, and 43 trust fund grants for a total commitment of $190.2m.
During 2013, IFC provided $276m to fund five initiatives in Egypt. The corporation is backing 14 projects around the country in manufacturing, construction, and the energy sector.
