Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli took part in the annual conference of the “Developing and Emerging Markets Committee” and the “Regional Committee for Africa and the Middle East” affiliated to the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Attending the meeting were Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el-Saeed, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet, Minister of Environment Yasmeen Fouad, Minister of Public Business Sector Mahmoud Esmat and Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir.
Governor of Cairo Major General Khaled Abdel-Alaa and Mohamed Farid, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory also attended.
Addressing the event, the prime minister said that the meeting represents an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences on ways to deal with threats related to financial technology, seize the opportunities it presents, as well as integrate sustainability into the financial sector.
He added: “Since we live in a rapidly changing digital age, I believe that financial technology innovations and sustainability are key factors of change in order to promote financial inclusion and provide effective and sustainable access to financial services for all communities.”
Madbouli stressed that this requires a robust economy, noting that Egypt has adopted a national programme for economic reform with the chief aim of promoting economic stability and accelerating the pace of growth and development across the country.
He noted that the economic reform programme aims to launch infrastructure investments, increase growth rates, and creates more job opportunities, especially for women and youth.
The prime minister said to facilitate obtaining financing, the government has begun implementing an ambitious programme to enhance private sector participation in development projects being carried out nationwide in all fields.
PM Madbouli stressed the importance of the sustainable development goals, hence the government prepared the updated Egypt Vision 2030 to be compatible with structural economic reforms, and contribute to raising employment rates, increasing investment in human capital, and enhancing partnership with the private sector. He said that thanks to the economic reform measures, Egypt advanced six places in the 2023 Sustainable Development Goals Index.
The prime minister stressed that the non-banking financial sector plays a vital role in the economy, noting that the government has implemented many legislative reforms to develop its legal framework in this regard, such as laws for micro, small and medium enterprises and consumer financing.
These activities have become the main pillars of financial inclusion. This is in addition to amending the executive regulations of the Capital Market Law to issue sustainability-related bonds and funds for environmental, social and corporate governance practices, in addition to the introduction of voluntary carbon markets under the supervision of the Financial Regulatory Authority.
He referred to the issuance of the first Egyptian law on non-banking financial activities, which was followed by issuing executive rules and regulations to enhance financial inclusion by facilitating access to financial services and encouraging innovation.
The premier said that this is a difficult time full of challenges, however we can together confront those challenges, find opportunities, and achieve the required growth through the exchange of experiences.
Discussion about this post