Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has stressed the importance of the Export Reimbursement Programme in driving Egypt's economic growth, highlighting plans to offer unprecedented incentives for localising industries and streamlining payment procedures for exporters. Madbouly chaired a Cabinet meeting on Sunday to review the programme's implementation, attended by key ministers and officials, including Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El-Khatib, and representatives from relevant ministries and agencies. The Prime Minister emphasized that the program is crucial to achieving the government's ambitious goal of doubling exports in targeted sectors, opening up new opportunities for Egyptian businesses in regional and global markets. "We need to ensure timely payments to exporters," Madbouly stated. "This is crucial for building trust and supporting their businesses." He also announced that the government will introduce unprecedented incentives to attract industries that are currently not present in Egypt but are essential for the domestic market. This move aims to localize these industries and ultimately reduce Egypt's reliance on imports. The meeting reviewed the progress of the Export Reimbursement Program from 1 July 2023, to 29 February 2024. Discussions also included the procedures of the new program, which commenced on 1 March 2024, and will run until 30 June 2025. The meeting delved into the program's key implementation parameters, including prioritizing support for products with higher added value and allocating a portion of the budget to each export sector. It also tackled the gradual increase of the proportion of local components in companies, which will be linked to the level of support they receive annually. The minimum percentage of local content for exports benefiting from the program was raised to 35% as of 1 July 2024, and is set to increase further. The meeting also reviewed the progress of automating the Export Reimbursement Programme. The first phase of automation, launched on 15 August 2024, includes registering exporting companies and electronically submitting support disbursement requests. Once approved, the new program's ratios and regulations will be incorporated and programmed.
