Egypt's Planning Minister receives Best Arab Minister Award

CAIRO – 3 February 2021: Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el-Saeed received Wednesday the Best Arab Minister Award, in a ceremony at the Ministry's headquarters.

The ceremony took place in the presence of Director General of the Arab Organization for Administrative Development (ARADO), Nasser Al Qahtani, the organization's officials and the Ministry's leaders.

She referred to the active role of ARADO as one of the most important specialized Arab organizations, and the Arab house of expertise to achieve administrative development in the Arab countries, thanking the organization, the Arab League, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the award.

El-Saeed stressed that the award is an appreciation and honor for the Egyptian state with all its institutions, as it is the result of the collective work and effort of the Egyptian government. 

"The honor is a tribute to the Egyptian woman and a culmination of the role they play in the Egyptian development experience, and the successes they achieve in all fields. It is an embodiment of the great confidence and unprecedented support women receive from the political leadership in carrying out this role," She added.

She thanked the Ministry's employees and leaders as partners in this award, as they are always active partners in the success of the work system in the ministry.

During her speech, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development praised the idea of ​​the Arab Excellence Award, which was a commendable initiative launched by the government of the sisterly United Arab Emirates in cooperation with the Arab League and the Arab Organization for Administrative Development, noting that Arab development work requires such initiatives, which aim to spread the culture of quality and excellence in Arab government institutions, promoting rational government practices and optimal employment of resources, and contributing to administrative development and government institutional excellence. 

“The award also provides an Arab platform for exchanging best practices and experiences in the field of administrative development and celebrating successful administrative and governmental experiences in the Arab world,” she added.

El-Saeed noted that Egypt has a comprehensive development experience that came At the heart of it is administrative reform, which included many pillars, the most important of which is legislative reform and institutional development, raising the efficiency of the state’s administrative apparatus, developing and automating government services, and above all, training and capacity building especially for both youth and women, which comes within the framework of a more general and comprehensive approach to the Egyptian state. 

This comprehensive approach can be achieved by expanding investment in people, qualifying youth for leadership, and achieving the strategic goal set by the government under the guidance and assignment of the political leadership, which is building the Egyptian people, preparing the necessary cadres to raise the efficiency of the administrative apparatus, develop government performance, and implement the sustainable development strategy "Egypt Vision 2030".

The minister explained that investing in people is the most important type of investment and the most rewarding. That’s because it is a long-term and sustainable investment, and the presence of young people in leadership opens a platform for mutual dialogue, which gives young people confidence, and strengthens their participation in the decision-making process. 

“We have many promising models; there are many deputy ministers and assistants, as well as deputy governors, who are among the youth, so the goal is to create a second row of active youth leaders,” El-Saeed explained.

El-Saeed also referred to the file of "Digitization or Digital Transformation" as a basic pillar for comprehensive and sustainable economic development, especially in the context of the digital economy and the expansion of electronic financial services. Which has become a global trend and approach adopted by different countries of the world, so the transformation to the digital economy is one of the products and fruits of the interaction between the applications of the global economy, the knowledge revolution and the successive developments in information and communication technology.

She referred to the modern information infrastructure that has been accomplished in Egypt, which strengthened the power of the Egyptian economy in light of the Covid 19 pandemic, and the complete reliance it witnessed on electronic applications.

El-Saeed also indicated the launch of websites to inquire about services, apply for them and pay online to obtain them through the "government services portal", and the launch of mobile units to provide government services to the citizen near his residence.

She pointed to the "Egypt Government Excellence Award", which was launched in 2019 under the patronage of the President of Egypt, noting that the second round of the award is currently being implemented, as work is underway in the evaluation phase and the results will soon be announced, explaining that the second session witnessed an expansion in Adding new categories for the award, including service categories that deal directly with citizens, such as the award for the best catering office, health bureau, and social rehabilitation center, in addition to adding new institutional categories such as the best employee award and the best work team to encourage teamwork.

At the end of her speech the minister thanked the Arab Organization for Administrative Development, the Arab League and the United Arab Emirates for this honor, stressing that the path to excellence and creativity is paved and open to all, and that the Arab world and Egypt have tremendous human capabilities.