ME’s infrastructure has high investment potential: World Bank VP

CAIRO - 19 November 2017: The world is now shifting to invest in the Middle East and especially in the infrastructure sector, said Mahmoud Mohieldin, senior vice president at the World Bank Group, on Sunday.

Speaking at a conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham) on economic development under the name “Progress in a Changing World”, Mohieldin said that the refugee crisis is crippling global development.

"Refugee numbers are now 25 million people in different world countries... and developing countries are bearing the largest burden of the crisis," Mohieldin added.

Addressing global megatrends and challenges, Mohieldin said that it is important to address demographic shifts to achieve economic development, highlighting that this is a reason why the World Bank Group adopted a 2030 agenda that focuses on finance, data and implementation, which is in line with the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

Egypt’s portfolio with the World Bank Group stands at $8 billion, including $2 billion allocated for the private sector, according to previous official statements.

The World Bank has contributed a total of $4 billion to Egypt’s energy sector over the past three years and around $3 billion is for supporting economic reform plans, according to Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr.

Meanwhile, the rest is divided over $635 million in investments from the global private sector, with the participation of the International Financial Corporation (IFC), to build the largest solar complex in Aswan governorate.

Also, more than $200 million were given as financial guarantees for the same project from the WBG-affiliated Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. An additional $150 million were directly invested by the group in the oil and gas sector.