Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted the core pillars of the updated "National Narrative," recently presented to the Cabinet. She emphasized that human development remains the state’s top priority to ensure that growth directly benefits citizens. Other key pillars include boosting local and foreign investment and industrial development, enhancing foreign trade and labor market flexibility, strengthening international cooperation and the green transition, and improving public investment governance and spatial planning for localized economic growth.
The Minister underscored Egypt’s shift toward linking budget
support financing to tangible results. "Concessional budget support is now
tied to specific reforms in public finance, business environment improvements,
private sector empowerment, and human capital development," Al-Mashat
stated.
The two parties discussed expanding the use of investment
guarantees to mobilize private capital. They specifically reviewed the World
Bank’s new unified guarantee platform, which integrates tools from the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to attract large-scale infrastructure investment
without straining the state budget.
The meeting explored various World Bank instruments,
including Program-for-Results (PforR) financing. This model links disbursements
to the achievement of measurable milestones, aiming to improve resource allocation
and the quality of public services at the governorate level.
Dr. Al-Mashat praised the success of the Upper Egypt Local
Development Program (UELDP), noting its impact on local communities. she
stressed the importance of scaling these results through expanded partnerships
with the private sector and the IFC to ensure long-term sustainability.
Stefan Gimbert congratulated the Minister on the second
edition of the National Narrative, reaffirming the World Bank's commitment to
supporting Egypt through innovative financing and institutional partnerships to
foster inclusive growth.
The discussions also covered:
Governance of Grants: Streamlining technical assistance to
align with state priorities and avoid programmatic duplication.
Private Sector Mobilization: Enhancing the IFC’s role in
local development and partnering with commercial banks to provide credit lines
for SMEs.
Renewable Energy: Leveraging MIGA guarantees to bolster investments in Egypt’s rapidly growing renewable energy and trade finance sectors.