Egypt, Uzbekistan discuss opportunities for cooperation

CAIRO - 6 September 2021: Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) Hala El-Said, met on Monday with Umurzakov Sardor Uktamovich, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Foreign Economic Affairs - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Uzbekistan Republic.

The meeting came on the sidelines of her participation in the 46th annual meeting of the Bank Group, held in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan to explore opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development emphasized the remarkable progress in relations between Egypt and Uzbekistan over the past years, especially during the visit of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2018.

El-Said expressed her gratitude for visiting the Republic of Uzbekistan for the first time, and the opportunity to discuss potential opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.

El-Said's visit came during unprecedented challenges at the global, regional and national levels, with the spread of the Corona pandemic and its massive health, economic and social effects, which led to a significant decrease in the volume of foreign trade and a sharp decrease in foreign investments.

El-Said praised the commitment of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan to developing and implementing a unified government investment policy in the fields of foreign trade and international economic cooperation, as well as its role in leading cooperation with international financial institutions and foreign government financial organizations.

El-Said referred to the multiple opportunities for investment cooperation between the two countries and the possibilities of exchanging experiences, especially in attracting foreign direct investment and the participation of the private sector.

El-Said explained the role of the Egyptian Ministry of Planning in taking over planning efforts for sustainable economic development at the national level, managing public investments, and formulating a national investment plan.

El-Said highlighted the ministry's success in automating the stages of preparing the national investment plan by adopting the "Integrated System for Preparing and Following up the Investment Plan."

El-Said emphasized the role of the Ministry of Planning in developing and promoting Egypt’s sustainable development strategy: Egypt’s Vision 2030, as well as the ministry’s constant endeavor to raise the efficiency of public spending, noting the ministry’s efforts in formulating the “National Structural Reform Program,”  (NSRP) which was launched in April 2021.

Meanwhile, El-Said asserted the Egyptian government’s pledge, within the framework of the structural reform program, to continue investing in infrastructure development, due to its critical role in enhancing the business environment and enhancing the participation of the private sector.

The aforementioned structural reforms included the adoption of many institutional and legal reforms, simplification and automation of procedures, customs release, as well as the formation of a permanent committee to develop and simplify internal investment procedures to complete restructuring work.

El-Said highlighted the major projects implemented by the state in recent years in partnership with the private sector to develop the infrastructure, which included projects to develop the Suez Canal axis, the establishment of the largest solar power plant in the world in the “Benban” area in Aswan Governorate, and the establishment of industrial zones and new smart cities, most notably Egypt's New Administrative Capital.

El-Said also pointed out that the Egyptian government is strengthening partnerships with the private sector to diversify sources of financing development plans and programs.

Moreover, El-Said highlighted the establishment of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) as one of the most effective mechanisms for creating partnership opportunities between the public and private sectors. The fund aims to create investment opportunities in promising sectors with high growth.

El-Said added that four sub-funds have been established in areas consistent with the state's priorities, including health services, infrastructure, financial services, and digital transformation, as well as tourism and real estate investment.

El-Said explained that TSFE signed many protocols and established partnerships with local, regional, and international institutions.

On a regional scale, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are establishing a joint strategic investment platform worth $20 billion to invest in a group of sectors and assets, while, the international scale witnessed the signing of MoU between TSFE  and Actis in London to promote investments in the energy and infrastructure sectors.