State keen to boost Arab economic
integration, support private sector

Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet has reiterated Egypt’s keenness on deepening the Arab economic integration at the face of the intertwined global challenges, namely repercussions of the Covid pandemic, the war in Europe, and climate changes.

They have led to disruption of the supply chains and an unprecedented wave of inflation, that has led to soaring prices of goods and services, imposing pressure on state budgets, Maeet told a delegation from the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) on Monday. He stressed the need to further boost joint Arab investments to maximise production and export capabilities.

Maeet referred to promising and investment opportunities that attract the private sector in various fields, with focus on environmentally friendly sectors, including ammonia, green hydrogen, and energy generation from renewable and clean sources.

He also stressed the efforts to offer a positive climate to attract new local and foreign investors, in a way that guarantees localisation of industry, increasing the share of local components, and consolidating competitiveness of the Egyptian exports in global markets, according to an official statement.

In addition, the government has adopted plenty of measures, policies and reforms to make the best use of investment opportunities. These measures included the launch of the State Ownership Policy Document, which offers a participatory strategy that contributes to the state’s exit from a host of activities, boosting work to further empower the private sector in Egypt and boost its investments and presence in markets and projects.

For his part, Head of the AMF Economic Department Jalal Eddin bin Ragab, highlighted the fund’s support to Egypt’s development efforts, as well as deepening courses of co-operation to back the Egyptian economy, rendering it more resilient to domestic and foreign shocks.

He added that the AMF seeks to boost trade among the Arab countries in fields related to infrastructure, and developing regional supply chains that are likely to increase Arab exports.