Egypt's Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Hassan El-Khatib met on Wednesday with World Bank and International Finance Corporation officials in Cairo to review cooperation on reforms aimed at improving the country's investment climate and competitiveness. The talks, held with Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC's director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa, and Stephane Guimbert, World Bank's country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, focused on aligning support with Egypt's economic priorities. El-Khatib said the government is pushing legislative, regulatory and procedural reforms designed to lift Egypt into the world's top 50 in competitiveness rankings within two years. He added that a list of priority projects with ready licences and infrastructure is being finalised under a 10-year national plan to attract capital to industry, tourism, healthcare and ICT. World Bank and IFC officials welcomed Egypt's efforts to expand private sector involvement and pledged further cooperation in sustainable finance and joint development projects. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: Y.Yasser
