Sovereign wealth fund; mechanism to achieve sustainable development: Min.

CAIRO – 19 July 2018: The sovereign Wealth Fund is one of the most important mechanisms to achieve sustainable development as it is considered a long term investment, according to Minister of planning Hala el-Saeed.

The minister clarified that the fund is based on a partnership between the Egyptian government and the private sector.

Saeed expressed her happiness that the Parliament approved the bill to establish the fund with a capital of LE 22 billion ($11.16 billion), describing it as an important step on a road full of investments and a maximized return on the unused assets of the state.

This came on the sidelines of the minister's meeting with the Administrator of the United Nations Development Program, Achim Steiner, at the end of the political forum on sustainable development held from July 9 to 18 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York under the title "Transformation towards Sustainable and Flexible Societies".

During the meeting, Saeed discussed the government's program to implement the economic reforms which helped in increasing the growth rate, decreasing the unemployment rate and rationalizing the subsidies.

She noted that the Egyptian government has paid close attention to tackling the social impacts of the economic reform program through a series of social protection programs, monetary support programs (Takaful and Karama) and social housing programs.

Takaful and Karama Program is a part of the social protection net; it is a cash transfer program, aiming to protect the needy people from the negative effects of Egypt’s reform program.

The meeting also included a review of the achievements Egypt executed out of its 2030 vision, and the government's efforts in terms of e-government applications, and the development of electronic services provided to citizens.

The political forum is an international forum with a wide range of government, corporate and civil society leaders, sharing experiences and best practices to achieve sustainable development. The forum is the main platform for pursuing global progress.

On Monday, the Parliament approved a bill on establishing a sovereign wealth fund with a capital of LE 22 billion ($11.16 billion).

“The notion of establishing a sovereign fund came late,” said Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal in Monday's session, adding that such funds are very important for the Egyptian economy.

In April, the Egyptian Cabinet approved a draft law to establish a sovereign wealth fund to manage state assets with an issued and paid capital of LE 5 billion.

The fund will seek to attract domestic and foreign investment and build on the economic reforms launched by Egypt in 2016, including the flotation of the currency, cutting energy subsidies and introducing new taxes to cut the budget deficit, according to an earlier official statement.

Managing Egypt's Assets

Aiming to optimize state assets and manage public enterprises through their future float, the cabinet approved a draft law to establish a sovereign wealth fund to manage state assets with an issued and paid capital of LE 5 billion. But analysts warn it ne