Mohamed Farid, Chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), met with Italian Ambassador to Cairo, Michele Quaroni, and his accompanying delegation to discuss opportunities for cooperation in Egypt's rapidly expanding non-banking financial sector and to enhance Italian investments in this promising market. The meeting was also attended by FRA Vice Chairperson Islam Azzam, senior FRA officials, and members of the Italian Embassy's economic and investment team. During the meeting, Farid gave a detailed presentation on the latest regulatory and structural developments in Egypt's non-banking financial markets, particularly highlighting the introduction of the Unified Insurance Law. He described the law as a key milestone in modernising Egypt's legislative and regulatory framework for insurance, aimed at streamlining procedures, expanding digitalisation, and strengthening investor protections. Farid emphasised that the new law is central to improving the quality of insurance services, ensuring policyholder rights, and making the Egyptian market more attractive to foreign investors. He underlined the law's role in supporting Egypt's shift towards a more sustainable and competitive economy. The FRA Chairperson also outlined the Authority's recent initiative to launch a regulated voluntary carbon market, the first of its kind in the region under capital market supervision. This initiative is part of Egypt's broader green transition strategy and presents significant opportunities for Italian companies in clean technology and renewable energy—not just as investors, but as strategic partners in establishing new climate finance mechanisms. Farid stressed that this carbon market is designed to contribute to Egypt's national efforts to transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, aligned with global carbon neutrality goals. On the topic of financial technology and digital transformation, Farid noted that the FRA is working to build a regulatory environment that supports innovation. He highlighted several initiatives aimed at enhancing the digital infrastructure of the non-banking financial sector to promote financial inclusion and unlock new investment avenues, especially for Italian companies engaged in fintech. He added that the digitisation of non-banking financial services—particularly in insurance, capital markets, and microfinance—is essential to expanding access for all societal segments and aligns with Egypt's broader goals of financial and digital inclusion. "We are racing against time to digitise non-banking services in support of start-ups and entrepreneurship," Farid said, emphasising that fintech is a core driver of inclusivity and sectoral efficiency. Ambassador Quaroni expressed appreciation for the FRA's reform momentum and the rapid transformation of Egypt's non-banking financial market. He reiterated Italy's keen interest—at both the governmental and private sector levels—in exploring investment and partnership opportunities, particularly in the carbon market and the digital finance space. The Ambassador affirmed his commitment to facilitating closer cooperation through a series of technical meetings between relevant stakeholders from both countries to move forward on joint initiatives. Concluding the meeting, Farid reaffirmed the Authority's full commitment to maintaining close coordination with the Italian side. He noted that the FRA is ready to provide detailed briefings on key areas of mutual interest in order to translate these discussions into concrete investment partnerships that contribute to economic development in both countries.
