Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation Holds Extensive Meeting with the Managing Director of IFC to Discuss Joint Work Files for Private Sector Empowerment

 

At the Start of H.E.’s Meetings within the 2025 Spring Meetings

 

 

Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation Holds Extensive Meeting with the Managing Director of IFC to Discuss Joint Work Files for Private Sector Empowerment

 

 

 

"Al-Mashat":Unifying corporate tax under presidential directives supports the state's orientation towards a competitive, investment-attracting economy and improves the business environment.

The state is determined to reduce its role in economic activities and enable local and foreign investments to lead growth.

Extensive discussions to advance the offerings program and enhance the role of the private sector in the airports sector.

Maximizing partnership between IFC and the European Union to expand the scope of investment guarantees totaling €1.8 billion.

Comprehensive governmental approach to facilitate business and encourage partnerships between the public and private sectors.

$2.4 billion is the size of IFC's investment portfolio in Egypt as of March 2025.

IFC Managing Director:We are working to develop our business to attract foreign investments from abroad, in addition to encouraging investments by local companies.

We are investing our experience gained in Egypt to replicate the successful experience in other countries... and we are committed to expanding our activities to include diverse fields.

 

 

H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, International Cooperation and Egypt's Governor at the World Bank, commenced her meetings during the 2025 Spring Meetings by holding an extensive meeting with H.E. Mr. Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's arm for private sector financing.

 

The two sides reviewed developments in the implementation of various joint work files to enhance private sector participation in development efforts, stimulate the investment environment in vital sectors, and support the government's efforts in implementing the State Ownership Policy Document.

 

 

Partnership in Offering Airports to the Private Sector

 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat expressed appreciation to the IFC Managing Director for the Corporation's efforts in Egypt and its cooperation with the government to enhance private sector participation in development, especially after the completion of the advisory services agreement for offering a number of airports to the private sector.

 

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat noted that the IFC Managing Director’s visit to Egypt next June will be a favorable opportunity to follow up on the developments of the partnership between the two sides and push towards more joint work.

 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat mentioned that the partnership with the IFC in offering Egyptian airports to the private sector complements the cooperation initiated in June 2023 regarding the government offerings program, to implement the State Ownership Policy Document and achieve private sector-led economic growth.

 

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat emphasized that the state prioritizes restoring the role of the local and foreign private sector in leading economic development efforts. Therefore, it is implementing a national structural reform program and working to expand financing mechanisms for development to attract foreign direct investments.

 

 

Encouraging Tradable and Export-Oriented Sectors

 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat stressed the government's efforts in the past period within the framework of transforming the Egyptian economy towards private sector-led growth based on tradable sectors. She pointed out that the government is working on implementing a package of economic and structural reforms to create a more competitive and attractive environment for the private sector. This includes expanding private sector participation by regulating the state's contribution in various economic activities, developing the legislative and regulatory environment, facilitating licenses, digitizing services provided to investors, and encouraging public-private partnership (PPP) models in infrastructure, energy, transportation, education, and healthcare.

 

 

Growth of IFC's Investments in Egypt

 

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation affirmed the vital partnership with the IFC to support private sector-led growth and employment. She mentioned that the current portfolio of the Corporation's investments in Egypt amounted to about $2.4 billion in March 2025, in addition to a technical support and advisory portfolio worth $25.7 million. This portfolio is distributed across the financial markets, agribusiness, health, education, manufacturing, tourism, retail, construction, and infrastructure sectors.

 

 

Investment Guarantees from the European Union

 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also referred to the investment guarantees mechanism with the European Union worth €1.8 billion and the importance of the IFC's cooperation in this matter to expand the scope of these guarantees, which would contribute to attracting more foreign direct investments. She added that the cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank in preparing the Business Ready (B-Ready) report, which assesses the investment climate and business environment in Egypt, will positively reflect on the work of the IFC and open more avenues for joint cooperation by providing recommendations on policies that should be implemented for a more competitive investment environment.

 

 

Unifying Tax Fees and Reducing Burdens on Investors

 

In this regard, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat pointed out the recent directives of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi regarding the unification of corporate tax instead of multiple fees, which will create a tangible improvement on the ground, contribute to facilitating business performance, simplifying procedures, and reducing financial burdens on investors.

 

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat referred to the measures taken to shift towards growth based on tradable and export-oriented sectors, especially in non-oil manufacturing industries, and the possibility of collaboration with the Corporation to study incentives that can be directed to these sectors.

 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also noted the Sovereign Fund of Egypt's study on maximizing the utilization of state-owned assets and the presence of the Ministers of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Investment and Foreign Trade, and Finance on the Fund's Board of Directors for the first time to ensure policy integration.

 

 

Regulating State Ownership in its Companies

 

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat also highlighted the Cabinet's approval of the draft law regulating state ownership in companies owned or contributed to by the state, and its importance in implementing the objectives of the State Ownership Policy Document, particularly the governance of the state's presence in economic activities and focusing its intervention on injecting investments in vital public sectors and utilities, in addition to attracting more local and foreign investments.

 

 

Renewable Energy Investments

 

The two sides also discussed ongoing efforts in the field of renewable energy and the financing directed to the Norwegian company Scatec to maximize its investments in Egypt, as well as Egypt's interest in expanding investments in supporting the electricity grid. She noted that the Corporation's investments have contributed to attracting the private sector to vital and necessary sectors such as renewable energy, where the IFC led a consortium of investors to inject $653 million into the Benban solar power plant.

 

For his part, the IFC Managing Director reiterated the Corporation's keenness to expand the scope of its work in Egypt beyond encouraging investments by Egyptian companies.

He emphasized the Corporation's endeavor to attract foreign companies to increase their investments in Egypt, noting that there are ongoing discussions with a number of foreign investors.

He explained that IFC is working to transfer the significant expertise it has gained from its work in vital sectors in Egypt to other countries of operation, including Iraq.

 

H.E. Mr. Makhtar Diop pointed to the economic and structural reform measures taken by Egypt that enhance macroeconomic stability and the importance of continuing these measures to strengthen confidence with the private sector.

He expressed the IFC's readiness to provide technical support to the government regarding the management of state-owned or state-contributed companies.

 

It is worth mentioning that, based on the experience of the IFC, which operates in more than 100 countries around the world to create markets and enhance partnership opportunities with the private sector, the government places partnership with the Corporation at the top of its priorities in light of its efforts and priorities to improve the investment climate and increase private sector participation in development efforts. This has contributed to injecting more than $9 billion by the Corporation since 1975 in Egypt, and these investments have witnessed a steady increase in recent years.