Dr. Rania Al-Mashat:

Egypt has moved to expand innovative financing mechanisms to maximize benefit from partnerships with international institutions.

We adopt a new economic model through “Egypt’s Narrative for Economic Development”, led by the private sector and fostering productive and export-oriented investments.

We are working to expand private sector participation through innovative tools to mitigate risks in cooperation with international partners.

Stability and clear policies are two essential conditions for mobilizing finance and stimulating investment participation.

The challenge for developing countries is not so much finance as it is preparing investment-ready projects that incentivize private capital.

Country platforms are an effective tool for mobilizing investments and technical support in developing nations and emerging economies.

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, participated in the second edition of the “Cairo Forum”, organized by the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES). This year's session discusses increasing global disruptions amid geopolitical conflicts and deteriorating climate conditions, as well as the future of the multilateral system and the global economy.

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation spoke in the first panel discussion on "The Shrinking Resources of Development Finance Institutions and the Threat Facing the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, especially in Africa." 

Participants included Ms. Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Mr. Stephane Gimbert, Regional Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti at the World Bank Group, Dr. Mark Davis, Managing Director of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Dr. Nangula Nelulu Uaandja, CEO of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB). The session was moderated by Eng. Tarek Tawfik, ECES Vice Chairman.

In her video address, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat explained that the world today faces a new reality that impacts various countries across different aspects, especially economic ones, particularly those countries that contribute capital and set the priorities for multilateral institutions and development finance institutions. This is evident in the decline of development finance for developing and middle-income countries.

Dr. Al-Mashat pointed out that with the rising cost of borrowing due to successive global shocks, directing resources toward enhancing private sector investments has become a fundamental priority. This underscores the importance of partnerships between development finance institutions, governments, and the private sector to mobilize more resources and align national priorities with global goals.

Dr. Al-Mashat noted that the real challenge is not financing, but it is essential to employ the technical expertise of multilateral development banks to support developing countries in raising their capacities in project design and preparation in a way that incentivizes private capital to engage in these projects.

Minister Al-Mashat mentioned the concept of "Global Public Good," which refers to solutions implemented by countries where the return extends beyond national borders to the regional and international levels, thereby supporting flexibility and resilience.

Dr. Al-Mashat also stressed the need for international finance institutions to prioritize catalytic investments, in addition to integrating climate adaptation and resilience into all investment portfolios of international institutions. She emphasized the necessity of increasing investment in human capital and ensuring that the investments of finance institutions align with countries' priorities in education, health, and training, linking financing to specific outputs and results.

Dr. Al-Mashat stated that there is a growing need for joint financing mechanisms that pool the resources of finance institutions into multi-asset funds, allowing for greater mobilization of private capital. Furthermore, she highlighted the necessity of enhancing partnerships among finance institutions, governments, civil society, and the private sector to transform limited resources into long-term development outcomes.

In this context, she noted that the World Bank Group’s new guarantees platform is an important tool for accelerating the pace of investment attraction, reducing risks, and stimulating infrastructure and climate projects more efficiently and transparently.

Dr. Al-Mashat also discussed Egypt's economic reform experience, adding that through “Egypt's Narrative for Economic Development”, the state aims to transition to a new economic model focused on productive and export-oriented sectors, led by the private sector. In this context, the goal is to increase the share of private sector investments to 66% of total investments by 2030, and increase the private sector's contribution to the GDP to 82%. She explained that the governance of public investments aims to redirect capital while creating fiscal space for spending on health and education and incentivizing the private sector.

Minister Al-Mashat mentioned that Egypt is working to expand private sector participation through innovative risk-mitigation tools in cooperation with development finance institutions. These include the World Bank's unified guarantees platform, the investment guarantee mechanism with the European Union, and the mechanism to incentivize Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects launched with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

In addition, Dr. Al-Mashat referred to the debt swap mechanism with Germany and Italy, which has contributed to financing various development projects in rural development, education, food security, and job creation sectors. Recently, Egypt launched the first debt swap program with China globally.

Dr. Al-Mashat concluded her speech by reiterating that country platforms create a greater impact than individual projects by mobilizing broad-scale financing and technical support. Furthermore, guarantees incentivize private investments, enabling them to enter high-risk sectors, and enhancing stability and policy clarity is an essential condition for the financing mobilization process.