Egypt among states benefiting from increase of WB capital

CAIRO - 29 April 2018: Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr asserted that Egypt will be among the countries benefiting from any increase in the capital of the World Bank (WB).

Nasr's remarks came on Sunday during her speech in the Portfolio Egypt Conference which is held under the rubric "opportunities and challenges of the reform era".

The increase of the World Bank's capital is historic and will be directed to the countries which have economic reform programs and Egypt is among these countries, she said.

The bank is keen on participating in funding infrastructure and energy projects which are very vital for Egypt's development process, she added.

Economic and political stability are the biggest incentives to the foreign and Arab investors to pump new investments in Egypt, she said.

She noted how investors now consider Egypt as an exports' center especially in light of its inking of a number of free trade agreements with African and European countries.

It is important to carry on with the economic reform march to promote and attract more and more investments, Nasr said.

She pointed out that her ministry will pay greater attention during the coming period to increasing private investments in the sectors of education and health along with contributing to providing the necessary funding for the ongoing and planned infrastructure projects.

She said she is sure that the latest economic reforms are making foreign investors all the more optimistic about the investment climate in Egypt.

Nasr said that the number of companies founding new businesses in the Egyptian market has increased by 100% early in 2018 compared to the same period last year.

The ministry is in the process of finalizing a major international financing agreement in the field of health, Nasr said, hailing a recent agreement with the WB on allocating 500 million dollars for developing the education system.

The short-term plan of the investment ministry is to continue its contributions to shoring up the national economic reform march, Nasr said.