Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has assured that despite the severity of the economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, the Egyptian economy has demonstrated a resilience that helped sustain its positive growth rates. "This was possible in light of the structural economic reform programme that Egypt adopted over the last few years, achieving significant successes in a short period,” he added. El-Sisi highlighted the “positive” impact of the programme on development efforts and enhancing the government's ability to effectively intervene by introducing stimulus packages for key economic sectors, as well as providing support for the most vulnerable segments of the society. El-Sisi's remarks were made in a televised speech he delivered on Tuesday on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). President El-Sisi expressed Egypt's deep appreciation for the prominent role the OECD plays at the bilateral level with Egypt, and for its contributions to formulating economic and development policies at the international level to implement better policies for a better life. "On behalf of the Egyptian people, it is my pleasure to congratulate you and all the member states of your reputable organisation on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the OECD," El-Sisi said in his speech. He added that the organisation "has significantly contributed to the development of standards and the formulation of economic and development policies capable of achieving the slogan agreed upon by its member states: Better Policies for Better Life." Opportunity for promoting digitalisation "The year 2020 was full of challenges and negative repercussions posed by the coronavirus pandemic, to the extent that the post-COVID-19 world will be different than the one before," El-Sisi explained. "Despite that, the crisis has availed important opportunities, notably to accelerate digitalisation, and to improve our policies to become socially, economically, and environmentally more sustainable, which would contribute to achieving a comprehensive recovery as soon as possible," he stressed. The president said the crisis "highlights the role of the OECD, with its 60 years of experience in multilateral cooperation, in formulating policies that promote transparency and governance, accommodating the evolving trends and the needs of the global economy.” “It also highlights the OECD's positive contribution to the formulation of the required global path and the sought-after solidarity to tackle this unprecedented crisis in the efforts to alleviate the burden shouldered by all countries regardless of their degree of development, in addition to guiding such joint efforts to a win-win situation," he added. Egypt has maintained close cooperation ties with the OECD, through participation in various committees, in addition to its membership of the OECD's Development Centre in 2008 as the first Arab and African country to acquire its full membership. El-Sisi said this comes in the context of the importance Egypt attaches to the centre as a forum expressing the priorities and concerns of the developing countries and its role in preparing development studies, as well as availing the relevant technical assistance. In 2019, this cooperation witnessed a new impetus with Egypt joining the “Country Programme Mechanism,” he pointed out. "I would like to commend the progress in that regard, through which a number of priority areas have been selected, which are the most capable of contributing to the achievement of the National Program of Social and Economic Reform, in line with the agreement on the priorities matching our needs and objectives, notably those in the areas of adopting standards, improving the investment climate, deepening transparency, combating corruption, as well as empowering women and youth," he added. "I would like to express Egypt's deep appreciation for the significant role played by the OECD and affirm our keenness to strengthen cooperation for our mutual benefit. I also would like to reiterate my congratulations to the Secretary-General and all member states on this occasion. I wish you every success," the president concluded.
