Ending the two-day 2018 African Caucus annual meetings on Monday, Sahar Nasr, minister of investment and international cooperation, and Finance Minister Mohamed Moeit, announced that the Sharm El Sheikh declaration, in the presence of World Bank's (WB) Vice President for Africa Hafez Ghanem. The governors of African countries at the WB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to co-work to remove obstacles that hinder the private sector's injecting investments. The governors also affirmed their commitment to policies that support boosting investments and inclusive, sustainable economic growth, as well as adjusting legal frameworks and adopting simplified measures for investment promotion. The WB and the IMF affirmed their support for Egypt's heading of the African Union (AU) and the governmental strategy to boost cooperation with African countries with the aim of achieving sustainable economic growth for the African countries. “We take the opportunity to renew our appreciation for the supportive work of IMF and the WB,” the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration mentioned, adding that most of the African countries continue to implement economic reforms which aimed at enhancing competitiveness, diversifying investments and expanding exports base. Countries agreed on the establishment of special economic zones, the promotion of domestic and foreign direct investments and the announcing of tax incentives for investors, added the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration. "We welcome the new regional integration strategy of the WB and look forward to accelerating and expanding projects in agriculture and energy sectors, which will deepen industrialization and enhance competitive value and the chain of exports," noted the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration. The declaration emphasized the importance of coordination between the WB and African governments to maximize using funds for development, giving priority to projects with significant developmental and social impact which contribute to achieving sustainable development goals. The African governors agreed with the WB and the IMF that the digital transformation had recently emerged as an effective tool to enhance access to finance, including financing for women, small and medium-sized enterprises, according to the declaration. “Several African countries are leaders in business success stories, which led to a significant impact on poverty reduction and achieving development goals,” noted the declaration, calling for increasing African staff representation in the WB and IMF. “Our discussions with African ministers were very important as well as our agreed visions," said Nasr, noting that both sides agreed on redoubling efforts to meet current challenges, adding, “a majority, if not all, of our African countries are implementing economic reforms and ambitious economic development plans. The African ministers agreed that these plans should diversify our economic bases and increase our integration into the global economy," said Nasr affirming the importance of developing legislative and executive mechanisms to create the appropriate climate to encourage and attract investments. For his part, Moeit said that the African Caucus annual meetings focused on discussing boosting the overall growth of the African continent, increasing the role and contribution of the private sector investments and the boosting African exports. The minister added that the meetings aimed at reaching unified proposals and policies that would help the African continent to deal with the global and development challenges.
