Al-Mashat: Egypt welcomes investors from the Kingdom of Bahrain and enhances partnership in the field of entrepreneurship and start-ups
The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation participated in the meeting of the Egyptian-Bahraini Governmental Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, participated in the meeting of the Egyptian-Bahraini Governmental Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain, headed by Ahmed Kjouk, Minister of Finance, and Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and Economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the participation of Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and representatives of the two governments and the business sector from the two countries.
The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation delivered a speech in which she stressed the close partnership with the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the government's keenness to consolidate the partnership between the two countries in various economic, commercial and investment fields, as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached about $661.4 million in 2024.
She referred to Bahraini investments in Egypt in the sectors of finance, industry, construction, agriculture, tourism, services, communications and information technology, in addition to Egyptian investments in Bahrain that focused on real estate and tourism investment, explaining that Egypt welcomes investors from the Kingdom of Bahrain, as it provides many investment opportunities, in addition to strengthening partnership in the field of entrepreneurship and start-up companies, in light of the Egyptian government's interest in this vital sector and the launch of a specialized ministerial group.
Al-Mashat praised the joint efforts to hold the second meeting of the committee, despite the complex political, developmental and economic challenges facing our Arab region, which represent a critical stage in shaping the future of our peoples and future generations, explaining that the world today is experiencing common challenges, geopolitical tensions, and a decline in many development indicators, which necessitates the development of global financing systems to be more equitable, efficient and effective.
She stressed that in light of these successive global developments, the importance of such high-level joint committees comes, which represent an important platform for dialogue and joint thought in order to mutually benefit from successful experiences and expertise in all fields and at various levels.
She pointed to the national efforts to enhance macroeconomic stability and improve the business environment amid regional and global economic developments, and to set ambitious development goals through its national plan for sustainable development: Egypt Vision 2030, which reflects the three dimensions of sustainable development, namely the economic dimension, the social dimension, and the environmental dimension, noting the ministry’s intention, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, to launch the second phase of reports on localizing the sustainable development goals for Egyptian governorates, which includes 27 reports, which represent an important tool that decision-makers and policy makers rely on to effectively direct development efforts and respond to local needs, which ultimately enhances comprehensive and sustainable growth throughout the country.
Al-Mashat explained that the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation is working on preparing a comprehensive executive plan aimed at enhancing sustainable growth and macroeconomic stability, and creating job opportunities by focusing on improving the business environment and supporting tradable sectors, through adopting fiscal and monetary corrective policies, as well as governing public investments to make room for the private sector - and building a more dynamic, flexible and competitive economy by increasing investments.
She added that the Egyptian state has been continuing its efforts to implement economic and structural reforms since 2016, in order to enhance economic competitiveness, improve the business environment, enhance the ability of the macroeconomy to withstand external shocks, support the green transition, and open future horizons for comprehensive and sustainable development, in order to maximize the benefit from development partnerships financially and technically, based on 5 main axes, which are enhancing macroeconomic stability, distributing the productive structure of the Egyptian economy by focusing on real economy sectors, increasing competitiveness and improving the business environment, supporting the green transition, and raising the efficiency and flexibility of the labor market and the technical education and vocational training system.
She stressed that these interventions were reflected in the economic growth indicators, as the non-oil manufacturing sector led positive growth after a period of decline, with the industrial production index growing after a series of declines that began in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021/2022. Private sector investments also developed in the first quarter of the current fiscal year to account for 63% of total investments, and the continuation of this positive momentum was reflected in the Purchasing Managers Index for January 2025, which achieved the best performance in 4 years and recorded 50 points, exceeding the neutral zone.
Al-Mashat reviewed the development of inflation rates, the increase in remittances from Egyptians working abroad, the continuous growth in foreign direct investment, the growth in tourism revenues, and the increase in foreign exchange reserves.
She touched on the status of the Egyptian labor market, explaining that 2023 is considered one of the best years following the Corona pandemic crisis since 2020, as the Egyptian labor market was able to absorb about one million jobs this year, one of the most important and largest sectors that was able to absorb this number of jobs was the manufacturing industries, which alone had about 255 thousand jobs, equivalent to about 25% of the total number of jobs that were provided.
Indicators indicate that Egypt's economic growth recovered during the last quarter of 2023/2024, and continued in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2024/2025, with a growth rate of 3.5%. This growth was driven by a noticeable improvement in some major economic activities, including; manufacturing, electricity and the banking sector. Economic activity is expected to continue to improve during the coming period, in light of the government's commitment to continue implementing effective measures to support macroeconomic stability, contain inflation and stimulate private sector activity.
Al-Mashat pointed out that the Egyptian state will continue to implement structural reforms by applying the rules of good governance, raising the efficiency of investment spending, and setting a ceiling for public investments of one trillion Egyptian pounds for the fiscal year 2024/2025, so that the private sector will acquire a percentage of 50% of total investments, compared to about 43% in the previous year 2023/2024.
She stressed that Egypt has many advantages and competitive elements that enhance its ability to promote, attract and attract more foreign investments, and has the appropriate infrastructure for this, including roads, ports, maritime transport, airports, and complexes for mining industries and renewable energy, pointing to the implementation of a set of ambitious steps and procedures to improve the investment climate, empower the private sector and overcome the challenges facing investors. The most prominent of these procedures are the implementation of new tax policies, providing a package of incentives for companies, issuing the golden license, as well as launching a national strategy for industry that aims to achieve a breakthrough in localizing industry and transforming Egypt into a global industrial center, as well as a national strategy for foreign direct investment in cooperation with the World Bank and development partners.
To this end, the Egyptian government is working with the World Bank to discuss immediate measures that may be necessary to stimulate high and sustainable growth rates in light of the overall and external challenges. One of the key components of this collaboration with the World Bank Group is the ambitious green transformation agenda adopted by the Egyptian government, as the government has worked to increase the proportion of green public investments from 15% in FY 2020/2021, targeting 50% by 2025.
On the other hand, Al-Mashat touched on the launch of the National Integrated Strategy for Financing for Development in September 2024, which aims to mobilize and align local public financing with national development priorities, align private financing and investment, align development cooperation, and create an enabling environment and non-financial means for implementation, as the strategy includes all financing tools that the Egyptian government can use to address development gaps in various sectors.
Al-Mashat pointed out that the distinguished national relations with development partners have provided concessional development financing for the private sector amounting to more than $14.5 billion since 2020, in cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners. These financing packages were directed to support strategic sectors such as renewable energy under the “Nawafi” program, small and medium enterprises, transportation and industry, agriculture and trade, which contribute to enhancing sustainable economic growth and creating a business environment.
She stated that Egypt seeks to continue its strategic approach to diversifying energy sources, enhancing their efficiency, and transforming into a regional center for energy exports by stimulating direct investments in this important sector, in parallel with establishing economic partnerships with sisterly and friendly countries, especially in the field of clean energy.
