Sisi Allocates LE 50 Mln for Upper Egypt Development Program

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met Monday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development to discuss the latest developments of projects in Upper Egypt.

Sisi requested concerned authorities to formulate an integrated promotional program to maximize the quality of these products and support their marketing locally and externally 50 LE million from the Long Live Egypt Fund for that promotional program.

The meeting was also attended by Mahmoud Shaarawi, Minister of Local Development, Nevin Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry, Tariq Al-Fiqi, Governor of Sohag, and Ashraf Al-Dawodi, Governor of Qena.

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Bassam Rady, stated that the meeting dealt with a review of the developments of the "governmental program for local development in Upper Egypt in the governorates of Sohag and Qena."

[caption id="attachment_151339" align="aligncenter" width="850"] President Sisi during the meeting[/caption]

“President Sisi called for the regular evaluation of the performance and results of Upper Egypt development efforts with the aim of developing the mechanisms and discovering the development opportunities inherent in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts and the distinguished productivity for which the people of Upper Egypt are famous,” said Rady.

The spokesman added that the meeting witnessed a review of the most prominent axes of the government program for local development in Upper Egypt, carried out in cooperation with the World Bank and in coordination between the various concerned government agencies, and aims to advance development in the governorates of Sohag and Qena.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development presented the government's efforts aimed at developing the governorates of Upper Egypt. The volume of government investments directed towards the development of Upper Egypt during the past five years amounted to about EGP 160 billion; i.e. nearly 20% of the total government investments, EGP 41 billion of which were allocated to the governorates of Sohag and Qena where 10 % of Egypt’s population live.

In this context, Mr. Mahmoud Shaarawy presented the implementation status of the Upper Egypt Local Development Program. He pointed out that the total number of projects funded in the first phase of the program is about 3707 projects in the two governorates. The program has also allocated a budget to support precautionary and health-related measures to deal with the spread of coronavirus in Sohag and Qena.

Mr. Shaarawy also indicated that the first phase plan for the projects aimed at establishing facilities at the targeted industrial areas, is being devised. The projects implemented by the program in the two governorates contributed to providing about 250,000 job opportunities for their people.

President Sisi called for speeding up the implementation of the infrastructure projects within the framework of the program, including road, sanitation, electricity and drinking water projects.

In this context, His Excellency called for devoting attention to promoting the concept of sustainable rural development and integrated urban development for the good of the people of the governorates and villages in Upper Egypt.