Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, met with Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), during his first visit to Egypt. The meeting focused on the close partnership between Egypt and the OECD, and the implementation of the OECD's country programme in Egypt, which aims to support efforts to formulate evidence-based economic policies and execute structural reforms. The meeting coincided with the hosting of the Women's Economic Empowerment Forum for the Middle East and North Africa (WEEF) in Cairo. Al-Mashat expressed appreciation for the OECD's strong support and efforts within the framework of the country programme, which has played a vital role in advancing Egypt's development agenda. She emphasized Egypt's keenness to strengthening cooperation with the OECD and moving forward with the implementation of the agreed programme. "The government places great emphasis on implementing structural reforms that create more opportunities for the private sector to drive growth rates," said Al-Mashat. "The Ministry is working to intensify coordination with relevant parties, authorities, and ministries in Egypt to complete the implementation of the country programme and build upon past achievements." Al-Mashat explained that the country programme is structured around five key pillars in line with the Egyptian government's priorities in economic reform: economic stability and structural reform, technology and innovation, digital transformation, public governance and anti-corruption, statistics and monitoring, and sustainable development. The Minister highlighted that the Ministry is intensifying coordination with relevant national stakeholders to complete the country programme and build upon the achievements of the past period. Several key projects have been completed, including the release of Egypt's first economic report, prepared by the OECD. "The launch of Egypt's first economic report is one of the key outcomes of the country programme, and we are working to incorporate its recommendations into the formulation of evidence-based economic policies," said Al-Mashat. The Ministry continues to liaise with various national entities to monitor the implementation of the report's recommendations, utilising these recommendations in the formulation of policies and measures that will strengthen Egypt's economy in critical areas such as macroeconomic stability, enhancing the efficiency of fiscal and monetary policies, improving the investment climate, increasing private sector participation in the economy, enhancing labour market efficiency, and supporting the transition to a green economy. Al-Mashat also mentioned Egypt's inclusion in the OECD's Going Digital Toolkit, aimed at helping the Egyptian government assess the state of digital transformation and develop appropriate policies to promote digitalization across all sectors. The Minister highlighted the launch of the Green Growth Policies Review Report for Egypt, which provided specific insights and recommendations to promote the transition to a green economy through a number of key environmental pillars, including enhancing governance and environmental management, greening the tax and fee system, promoting green investment, and developing recommendations related to climate-smart cities and urban governance. Al-Mashat also noted that following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the OECD Secretary-General during the World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington, the country programme has been extended through 2025, instead of concluding in 2024. As such, several important projects are now in progress, including enhancing productivity in the industrial sector, reviewing higher education and innovation policies, and Egypt's inclusion in the trade in value-added database, all of which are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Additionally, the first technical report on reviewing business dynamics is set to be launched in early 2025. The Minister also reviewed Egypt's collaboration with the OECD in preparing the "Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing" during COP27, in alignment with efforts to boost climate financing. Al-Mashat emphasised the importance of deepening cooperation with the OECD to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially as less than a decade remains until 2030. Discussions also included potential collaboration with the OECD on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) through technical assistance. She underscored the establishment of the Ministerial Committee for Entrepreneurship, aimed at enhancing the capacity of startups and the entrepreneurial ecosystem to achieve sustainable, accelerated economic growth based on competitiveness and knowledge, contributing to the creation of decent jobs. She also mentioned Egypt's role as a host country for COP27 and the World Urban Forum, reflecting Egypt's active participation in international forums addressing sustainable development challenges. The OECD Deputy Secretary-General noted that Africa is the only continent without members in the organisation, and expressed hope that Egypt would become the first African member. He emphasised that the country programme with Egypt is an important step toward this goal. "Africa is the only continent without members in the organisation, and the country programme with Egypt is a significant step toward its potential membership as the first African nation," said the OECD Deputy Secretary-General. He also acknowledged the significant progress made in recent months regarding joint work with Egypt on implementing the country programme projects and highlighted the key achievements during this period.
