Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, met with Stephane Guimbert, the World Bank's Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, to discuss their ongoing partnership and efforts to boost growth and employment. The meeting explored avenues for further joint cooperation and future collaborative projects. Al-Mashat emphasised the importance of cooperation with the World Bank Group to promote growth and employment. She also highlighted the sectors that are driving the Egyptian economy. She explained that the World Bank Group has consistently been a key partner to the Egyptian government across many areas. This includes implementing development projects, providing technical assistance, and offering technical analysis and research. She noted that over the decades, the World Bank Group has contributed to numerous sectors, such as education, health, transportation, social protection, housing, and private sector enhancement. Al-Mashat acknowledged the successful collaboration between Egypt and the World Bank on several projects in recent years. She expressed her gratitude to the World Bank Group for their efforts in partnering with Egypt, and conveyed her hopes for future cooperation across a range of areas. Project Portfolio and Future Initiatives During the meeting, both sides discussed ongoing projects within the World Bank's portfolio. These include initiatives in education, food security, healthcare, sustainable sanitation, and universal health insurance. They also reviewed proposed future projects within the portfolio, such as the Development Policy Financing (DPF), innovative financing mechanisms, and projects related to the development of small, medium, and micro enterprises. The meeting also included discussions about joint strategies and reports, such as the Growth and Jobs Report and the Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, which focuses on improving the business environment. Country Partnership Framework Minister Al-Mashat highlighted the progress in implementing the Egypt-World Bank Country Partnership Framework 2023-2027, which was launched last year. The CPF puts the people of Egypt at the centre of the strategy. It seeks to achieve three high-level outcomes (HLOs): more and better private sector jobs, enhanced human capital outcomes, and improved resilience to shocks. The CPF also outlines two cross-cutting themes – governance and citizen engagement, and women's empowerment – that underpin progress toward the HLOs and complement and reinforce each other. Enhancing Foreign Direct Investment Last week, Al-Mashat participated in a workshop held by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group. The workshop, titled "Enhancing Foreign Direct Investment in Egypt through World Bank Group Guarantees," discussed the unified guarantee platform launched by the World Bank. This platform aims to provide services to both the public and private sectors through simplified mechanisms. These will bolster efforts to mobilise investments and provide innovative financing tools.
