President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the economic reforms carried out by Egypt reflected insistence to achieve an all-out economic development along with efforts to achieve security and stability, combat corruption and counter the misuse of resources. Sisi's remarks were made during his meeting in New York Sunday with President of the World Bank (WB) Jim Yong Kim, who voiced his backing of economic reform efforts exerted by Egypt, wishing success to the Egyptian government in carrying out its mission, according to Egyptian Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Alaa Youssef. The Egyptian president also asserted the importance of providing job opportunities to youths who are representing two thirds of Egypt's population. During the meeting, Sisi highlighted the important role played by the World Bank Group in the Middle East region which has recently acquired double importance as the region is in dire need of achieving stability through implementing development goals. The WB's contribution does not only have a humanitarian dimension, but also a security one to prevent the spread of chaos to other regions, Sisi explained. The Egyptian president underlined the importance of putting into effect any agreements reached with the WB as soon as possible as Egypt is racing against time to achieve all important projects ahead of schedule. Sisi and Kim also discussed a number of government megaprojects underway in Egypt which the World Bank could contribute to, including the project aiming to reclaim more than 1.5 million feddans of land in Egypt's Western Desert. The World Bank currently runs 26 projects in Egypt at a value of $5.4 billion. Sisi said the project to reclaim 1.5 million feddans which can contribute to providing job opportunities to many youths and establishing new urban communities. The WB president, for his part, showed understanding of Egypt's circumstances and its need for accelerating development efforts, praising the seriousness of the Egyptian State and commitment of its government to implement effective economic reforms.
