Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation and Egypt's Governor at the World Bank: We are working to enhance the financial space available to African countries from international institutions to implement the 2063 development agenda

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat: The ongoing meetings in Nigeria strengthen the continuous cooperation between the World Bank and stakeholders on the continent to activate the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement

Egypt seeks integration with continental countries within the framework of Egypt Vision 2030 and encourages South-South cooperation to drive trade and investment

The meetings address shared payment systems, digital transformation, and sustainable infrastructure to activate the African Free Trade Agreement

The World Bank and African Development Bank discuss implementing an initiative to provide 300 million African citizens with electricity by 2030

The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation participated in the 2024 African Caucus Meeting, held in Abuja, Nigeria, from August 1-3, 2024. This meeting, hosted by the Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, was titled "Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa" and was under the patronage of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. It was attended by delegations and ministers from various African countries as well as representatives from international financial institutions.

H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation and Egypt’s Governor at the World Bank Group, commented on the meetings, highlighting their significance within the ongoing discussions between the African Group and the World Bank Group. H.E. Minister Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation with one of the largest multilateral development banks to overcome developmental challenges facing the continent and to advance the Africa 2063 development agenda. 

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat underscored the crucial role of multilateral development banks in fostering economic growth by encouraging private sector investments, providing concessional financing, and promoting partnerships for capacity building, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer.

In this context, H.E. Minister Al-Mashat also noted the alignment between Egypt Vision 2030 for sustainable development and Africa 2063, emphasizing the importance of coordination with the World Bank to achieve regional integration and leverage South-South cooperation mechanisms to benefit from developmental experience exchanges. H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that the ongoing meetings in Nigeria are enhancing the continuous cooperation between the World Bank and continental stakeholders to implement the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.

During the meetings, World Bank officials presented the group’s strategy on regional integration in Africa. They also discussed the initiative launched in April between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank to provide electricity to approximately 300 million people in Africa by 2030 through distributed renewable energy systems or distribution networks. This initiative is crucial for enhancing services for the continent’s citizens and supporting economic growth through partnerships between multilateral development banks and private sector investments.

The meetings also explored ways to activate the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement by standardizing payment systems across the continent, enhancing digital transformation efforts, developing sustainable infrastructure, and implementing effective policies to promote digitization. Additionally, the discussions covered topics such as facilitating access to finance for startups and digital technology from the private sector, guarantees as a source of finance in Africa, and improving trade and regional integration. The meetings also addressed infrastructure development, energy provision, and connectivity services to create a conducive economic environment for growth, the impact of digital transformation on developmental change, and the benefits of partnerships with multilateral development banks. The discussions also included the 21st replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) resources of the World Bank.

It is noteworthy that there are numerous areas of cooperation and mechanisms between the World Bank Group and African countries, particularly through affiliated institutions such as the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which provides investment guarantees to stimulate the private sector. In this context, the World Bank has issued several diagnostic reports on various development areas in Africa, including the Digital Africa report, the Land Policies for Resilience and Inclusive Growth report, structural reforms to encourage the private sector, and others.