Investment minister to assume presidency of 2018 WBG Africa

CAIRO – 8 October 2017: Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr will head to Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank. The minister will also assume the presidency of the 2018 World Bank Group Africa.

Nasr will hold meetings with officials at the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and development partners. She will additionally deliver keynote speeches in different forums.

The delegation she is presiding over will focus on promoting investment in Egypt, capitalizing upon the improvement in the country’s rank in the 2017-2018 Global Competiveness Report, since Egypt jumped 15 notches marking the biggest Arab move in the report.

The minister said in September that that was the result of Cairo’s efforts to improve the legislative and institutional framework of the country’s investment environment over the past period.

The talks will include cooperation programs and projects funded in $8 billion, from the $6 billion granted by the World Bank and $ 2billion investments by IFC in the private sector. The meetings would also discuss a number of projects targeting women and youth, and “Your Ideas is Your Company” initiative, which provides loans for start-ups.

The visit includes meetings with officials at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Islamic Development Bank. Nasr will focus on presenting the state’s priorities in the upcoming period highlighting how different financing institutions can contribute to the development plan achieving social justice.

The minister will also give a summary on the progress achieved throughout the past few months in the mega development projects financed by these institutions.

Afterwards, Nasr will head to New York City to attend meetings with certain investors and American corporations organized by CI Capital Holding and the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham).

The accompanying delegation comprises the Chairperson of the Stock Exchange Mohamed Farid, the Chairperson of the Egyptian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA) Mohamed Omran, and the ministry’s Senior Economic Consultant Shehab Merzeban.