Al-Mashat Meets Director of Middle East, Africa at Euromoney Conferences

The Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat met with the Director of the Middle East and Africa at Euromoney Conferences, Victoria Behn, to discuss the most significant pillars for Egypt's economy, and addressing the Euromoney conference that will be held next year.

H.E. Al-Mashat stated that the structural reforms implemented by the Government of Egypt over the past 7 years, has pushed forward the country’s economic growth, and helped cushion the country during the pandemic.

The Minister further added that Egypt is one of the few countries that responded to the pandemic with economic resilience, due to the homegrown economic reform program that started in 2016, in order to improve economic indicators and achieve sustainable and inclusive growth.

Furthermore, the Minister elaborated that these measures made Egypt the first country in the Middle East and North Africa, and one of the very few economies, that witnessed positive growth in 2020. Not only that, but the economic growth, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast, is expected to rise in the fiscal year 2021/22 to 5.2% from 2.8% in 2020/21.

H.E. Al-Mashat added that Egypt’s economic performance was commended by several International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and credit ratings, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), which applauded the country’s ability to achieve a primary surplus in the general budget, in addition to the positive economic indicators over the years 2019 and 2021. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has also applauded Egypt’s continuous economic growth which is leading the recovery in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMED).

The Minister affirmed that the Government of Egypt is keen to carry on the economic reform and to move forward with the structural reform program, which bolsters economic growth, through the development of high-priority sectors and enhancing the private sector’s engagement in development efforts; paving the way for a better future for the young generations and boosting the green transition and circular economy, as well as pushing forward the digital transformation across the country.

Al-Mashat noted that the private sector plays a pivotal role in advancing climate action, and bridging the climate financing gap for developing countries and emerging markets, in addition to the role of innovative financing tools such as blended finance in strengthening financing tools and scaling up sustainable investments in the infrastructure sector.

The private sector, as Al-Mashat has mentioned, has a vital role, as a key partner in development, in advancing the interrelationships between Africa and the Arab countries, due to the huge potential Egypt’s private sector companies hold, as well as the private sector companies in Arab countries and in Africa.

For her part, Director of the Middle East and Africa at Euromoney Conferences Victoria Behn, applauded the progress of the Egyptian economy, especially in the field of infrastructure, and praised the development boom that Egypt’s sectors have witnessed. She also commended the positive results of the economic reform program launched by the political leadership; and congratulated Egypt for hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference next year (COP 27).

Moreover, Behn emphasized Euromoney’s keenness on constantly motivating the private sector to adopt policies and investments that are environmentally friendly.

It is worth noting that Euromoney is a global B2B information-services company, providing actionable data and analysis to clients across more than 160 countries, with more than 2,500 employees in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The Euromoney conference is a unique opportunity that opens the door for further developments that push forward digital transformation in the financial sector, and is a significant platform for advancing connections between the Egyptian banking sector and the fintech sector; in order to discuss ways to enhance Egypt's abilities to achieve economic recovery.