Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation meets with World Bank Group Managing Director and CFO to discuss strengthening cooperation and development partnership
28 September 2025
Al-Mashat: Egypt’s Narrative for Economic Development: Reforms for Growth, Jobs & Resilience builds on the country’s reform path to diversify the productive structure of the economy.
EGP 1.16 trillion ceiling for public investments in FY 2025/2026 to maintain macroeconomic stability and reduce public debt
Committed to diversifying the World Bank partnership portfolio to support Egypt’s economic and social development priorities
H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of
Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, received Ms.
Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank
Group, at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The
meeting was attended by Mr. Stephane Guimbert, World Bank Country Director for
Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti; Mr. Cheick-Oumar Sylla, IFC Regional Director for
North Africa and the Horn of Africa; and members of the World Bank Group team.
During the meeting, Dr. Al-Mashat reaffirmed
the Egyptian government’s commitment to strengthening its strategic partnership
with the World Bank Group to support Egypt’s economic and social development
priorities. This includes advancing fiscal and structural reforms, boosting
private sector participation, and expanding green investments, in line with the
country’s national vision and priorities.
She highlighted the launch of Egypt’s
Narrative for Economic Development: Reforms for Growth, Jobs & Resilience,
a comprehensive framework that integrates Egypt Vision 2030 with the
Government’s Action Program, while accounting for global and regional developments.
The narrative adopts an economic model focused on high-productivity sectors and
the real economy, aimed at increasing Egypt’s domestic resources and building
sustainable, resilient growth.
Dr. Al-Mashat explained that the narrative
marks an advanced stage of a development path that began over a decade ago,
with Egypt investing heavily in infrastructure, including roads, energy, ports,
and smart transport systems, to create a more enabling environment for economic
activity, enhance productivity, and attract investment. These investments laid
the groundwork for a dynamic economy capable of withstanding external shocks
and generating real added value.
She further noted that the government’s
objectives under the Narrative include diversifying the production base,
boosting exports, rationalizing imports, enhancing private sector participation
in line with the State Ownership Policy Document, strengthening competition
policy, and protecting low-income groups.
The Minister also discussed the targets of the
current fiscal year’s economic and social development plan, underlining efforts
to improve fiscal discipline and reduce the budget deficit. She confirmed that
public investments have been capped at EGP 1.16 trillion for FY 2025/2026 to
ensure spending discipline, maintain the downward trajectory of public debt,
and safeguard macroeconomic stability. At the same time, the government is
working to expand private sector engagement and benefit from proceeds of the
state-owned assets sale program.
Al-Mashat pointed out that Egypt has one of
the World Bank’s largest portfolios in the Middle East and North Africa. This
includes commitments of over $6 billion from the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) across 13 projects; an IFC portfolio exceeding
$2 billion; and guarantees of nearly $700 million from the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to support vital investments in energy and
logistics.
For her part, Ms. Anshula Kant reaffirmed the
World Bank Group’s support for Egypt’s efforts through the Framework for
Financial Incentives (FFI) launched in 2025, as well as debt-for-development
swap initiatives, which channel additional resources into education, health,
and environmental protection.
The discussions also covered the outcomes of
recent meetings with the Ministry of Finance, highlighting continued fiscal and
structural reforms to ensure sustainable growth and debt reduction. Particular
emphasis was placed on launching Egypt’s Green Tax Strategy by December 2025
and expanding public-private partnerships.
Concluding the meeting, Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that cooperation with the World Bank Group is a cornerstone of Egypt’s development agenda. She stressed the importance of strengthening international partnerships to increase investments in productive sectors and green transformation, supporting inclusive and sustainable growth in line with Egypt Vision 2030 and Africa’s Agenda 2063.