The Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the World Bank Group Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, met with the Regional Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Africa, Sérgio Pimenta, who visited Egypt this week.
The meeting touched on following up on the joint cooperation portfolio with the institution, and the ongoing measures to enhance participation of the private sector and encouragement of investments, in the presence of IFC’s Regional Director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa, Cheick Oumar Sylla, and IFC’s Vice President Advisor for Africa, Olayinka Charles Lawson.
At the beginning of the meeting, Al-Mashat stressed the government’s appreciation for the joint work with the IFC, the arm of the World Bank to finance the private sector, and the importance of partnerships and efforts made that are consistent with the government’s vision and priorities to increase the private sector’s participation in development in various fields.
She noted that the partnership reflected the volume of IFC’s investments exceeding $7 billion since the start of its work in Egypt. Over the past four years, the total IFC investment portfolio has reached about $2.46 billion, including an already ongoing portfolio worth $1.7 billion. That is in addition to a technical support portfolio worth $34 million, in high priority areas such as the financial sector, fintech, climate finance, manufacturing, infrastructure and renewable energy, healthcare, and gender equality.
Al-Mashat pointed out the importance of the coming period of joint cooperation, especially in light of the implementation of the advisory services agreement between the IFC and the government to implement the government proposal program that was signed in June 2023, in light of the government’s endeavor to provide the opportunity for more partnerships with the private sector. The IFC was appointed as a strategic advisor to the government to implement the government IPO program.
The IFC presented an initial plan for implementation that included the technical and financial aspects of offering some of the companies in many of the proposed sectors as a first phase of the IPO programme, as well as implementing the new country partnership framework with the World Bank Group 2023-2027. The partnership is highlighted by empowering the private sector, providing better job opportunities, and enhancing competitiveness to achieve a comprehensive, sustainable and flexible economy.
Al Mashat noted that, within the framework of integrating the efforts made by development partners, the World Bank is currently conducting a new study to evaluate the situation of foreign direct investment in Egypt, in addition to preparing the national strategy for industry, and the importance of the two studies for the state in light of its endeavor to attract more foreign direct investments and localize industry in various sectors.
In a related context, Al-Mashat thanked Pimenta for participating in the launch of the the Private Sector Portal: Hub for Advisory Finance and Investment For Enterprises, which is considered the first integrated platform linking development partners, agencies, the government, and the local business community, with the aim of enhancing communication and linking the various private sector companies. That is in implementation of the recommendations of the Egypt Economic Conference held in October 2022, pointing out that the platform will have an effective role in linking the efforts provided by development partners and private sector institutions.
It is worth noting that earlier this week, Al-Mashat launched the Ministry’s annual report titled “Platforms for Policy and Practice,” which revealed that the total development financing for the private sector from multilateral and bilateral development partners amounted to $10.3 billion during the period from 2020 to 2023.
More information about the annual report and private sector financing
https://moic.gov.eg/ar/page/annual-report-2023
More information about the “Hafiz” platform for financial and technical support for the private sector
https://privatesector.moic.gov.eg/
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