MEMPHIS REISEN

Government committed to expanding private sector participation in economy: Egypt’s PM – Dailynewsegypt

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said, “We have a genuine desire to move as quickly as possible to expand the private sector’s participation in the economy.”

This came during a meeting on Sunday with Sergio Pimenta, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Africa, on the sidelines of IFC Day In Egypt, which took place in Cairo.

At the beginning of the meeting, Madbouly pointed out the important role played by the IFC as a strategic advisor to the government, providing technical advice on the state ownership policy document adopted by the Egyptian government to increase the private sector’s contribution to economic activity.

Madbouly said, “The continued consultations with the IFC confirm the Egyptian government’s clear desire and determination to move forward with exiting state-owned companies in the targeted sectors and making way for the private sector, in line with the commitment to implement the state ownership policy document, and to increase the private sector’s contribution to 65% of the country’s total investments.”

The Prime Minister expressed his aspiration to move faster towards specific and clear goals regarding cooperation between government representatives and IFC officials in the sectors being worked on, such as civil aviation, communications, and information technology, specifically in the areas of airport development, cable and communication tower construction, and data centres.

Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa, indicated the continuation of consultations with the Egyptian team responsible for the government offerings program, where many workshops are being held that include discussions on reaching specific mechanisms regarding the sectors agreed upon.

He said that the Prime Minister’s talk about supporting the private sector in Egypt confirms beyond any doubt that the Egyptian government is moving forward with determination in this path.

Meanwhile, Pimenta praised the support Egypt recently received from global financial and development institutions through the conclusion of several agreements, stressing that this contributes to significantly relieving pressure and giving greater confidence in the Egyptian economy.

The IFC Vice President for Africa affirmed that the IFC team believes that Egypt is not implementing the asset monetisation programme now because of its need for hard currency, but rather this comes within a short and long-term Egyptian vision to reform the economy and increase the private sector’s participation in it, which the Prime Minister emphasized during the meeting.

The meeting witnessed the presence of Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Cheikh Oumar Sylla, IFC Regional Director for North Africa, Stéphane Gimbert, IFC Regional Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, and several IFC representatives.