CAIRO, Sept. 20, 2018 - Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli confirmed on Thursday that the government was determined to go ahead with the economic reform programme to achieve economic and social development. The government was also seeking to increase the efficiency of work in the different sectors and to rationalise its expenditure, Prime Minister Madbouli said in a weekly cabinet meeting. During the meeting, the prime minister confirmed that the government was committed to all the economic programmes, notably a programme to list a number of the public business sector companies in the Egyptian Stock Exchange. Prime Minister Madbouli instructed the ministers to ease investment procedures for productive projects, and to grant all approvals required for launching the projects. He said it was important for the government to adopt this approach and for the various ministries to co-operate to expedite issuing approvals for projects in logistics, agriculture, livestock or poultry. Premier Madbouli ordered the ministers concerned to accelerate action in preparing the projects file due to be put forward to investors. On this score, the prime minister said the Investment Ministry was doing its best to promote investment projects. Finance Minister Mohamed Maeet suggested that a special investment unit be set up in each ministry to solve any problems facing investors. Investment Minister Sahar Nasr asserted that the tangible co-operation between the ministries of finance and trade and industry has contributed to solving many problems for investors. Prime Minister Madbouli, who doubles as Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, called on various ministries to pay great attention to promoting and developing the electronic services used by citizens. During the meeting, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr Amr Talaat said that there were around 60 electronic services being offered by the Post Authority in addition to a number of e-services being provided by the Ministry of Planning. Minister of Planning Dr Hala el-Saeed said that the ministries concerned were coordinating their efforts in launching an awareness campaign to encourage citizens to use e-services to take some of the strain out of day-to-day living. Prime Minister Madbouli said on Thursday he would embark on a series of visits to the governorates, to confirm the state's concern for improving living conditions, especially in Upper Egypt. In a statement following the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister said he was keen on holding regular meetings with media representatives to learn about the public thought of the decisions made by the cabinet. Madbouli praised the president's inauguration of several projects in the fields of health and education, pointing out that this reflected the priority given to both sectors by the government. The prime minister hailed the efforts made by the NGOs in support of the initiative to end waiting lists in hospitals. He also praised the new educational system to be applied at the kindergarten and primary stages, as of tomorrow. Following the meeting, the cabinet organised a ceremony to honour former governors in appreciation of their efforts. Prime Minister Madbouli conveyed a message of respect and appreciation from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to the ex-governors. He also hailed their efforts to confront and overcome many challenges and problems and to accomplish many projects. In another development, the cabinet approved on Thursday a draft presidential resolution on a co-operation protocol to develop the private sector in Egypt. The protocol will be signed by Egypt as represented by the Investment and International Co-operation Ministry and by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) through its office in Cairo. It will cover the period from 2018 to 2021. The draft resolution is aimed at benefitting from the accumulated technical experience of the ILO in supporting the investments of the private sector in Egypt in various economic fields, backing entrepreneurs and honing the skills of small producers and businessmen, especially in rural areas, in line with the Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030. The cabinet also approved a draft resolution introducing amendments to a grant agreement between the US and Egypt. This is the third amendment to the grant deal. The $200 million grant is part of the US-Egypt Higher Education Initiative. Under the initiative, the US provides educational opportunities for Egyptian high achievers to learn skills that will better meet the needs of the 21st Century's economy. The cabinet also approved a draft resolution introducing amendments to the grant deal on Egyptian-US Co-operation for Science and Technology. After the amendment, the grant will be $20 million. Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Madbouli attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Local Development and the Project Development Authority over the Mashrou'ak (Your Project) Initiative. Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy and the CEO of the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Project Development Authority, Nevine Gamae, signed the MoU. Also present was Minister of Trade and Industry Eng Amr Nassar. The protocol is part of the efforts made by the state to support small enterprises and offer all the facilities needed by entrepreneurs throughout the country. Minister Sharaawy said that the Ministry of Local Development was working to expand this initiative with the aim of creating more job opportunities for young people in various fields.
