Egypt will on Nov. 27 hold a high-level conference titled "Reform and Empowerment of Local Administration: Lessons Learned from the Local Development Program in Upper Egypt," the Ministry of Local Development has announced. The conference, to be held under the patronage of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, is being jointly organised by the ministry and its partners, including the ministries of planning, finance, and industry, in cooperation with the World Bank. It will see the participation of over 300 officials from Egypt and abroad. Minister of Local Development, Manal Awad, said the event coincides with the end of the first phase of the Local Development Program in Upper Egypt in October 2025. The programme, launched in 2017 with World Bank support, has been a "qualitative leap" in local planning and public resource management, she said. Awad explained that the conference will be a pivotal national platform to review the achievements of the programme's first phase, which saw the implementation of thousands of infrastructure and public service projects with a total investment exceeding EGP 32bn. These projects have contributed to improving the level of services for about 8.3 million citizens in the governorates of Qena, Sohag, Minya, and Assiut. The participation of women in development activities reached 48%, and the efficiency of infrastructure and services in the targeted governorates rose to 87.8%, exceeding the planned target of 70%, the minister said. The conference will also feature the presentation and discussion of the national strategy for decentralisation and its implementation roadmap, which is based on the lessons learned from the programme. Hisham El-Helbawy, the programme's director, said it has been a pioneering experience in introducing innovative mechanisms such as formula-based financial transfers and performance-linked grants, which have enhanced transparency and accountability. The conference will also explore opportunities to expand the programme's successful experience to new governorates and discuss ways to deepen cooperation with international development partners.
