As part of the state's efforts to enhance the investment climate and stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation and Egypt's Governor at the World Bank Group, held a meeting with Mr. Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), in the presence of Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance, to discuss joint cooperation files with the agency during the ongoing meetings at the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The meeting discussed enhancing the Arab Republic of Egypt's benefit from the unified guarantees platform recently launched by the World Bank, which is a unified platform for the guarantees provided by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the International Finance Corporation, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The meeting also discussed expanding the scope of investment guarantees in the Egyptian market for the public and private sectors, which is a financial tool that contributes to supporting developing countries in implementing economic and structural reforms and encouraging investments in various sectors.
The guarantees platform launched by the World Bank Group in July 2024 aims to simplify various financing mechanisms and maximize the limited capital available for development work in emerging markets and developing economies.
H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized that investment guarantees represent an innovative and effective tool to enable developing countries to attract long-term investments and enhance the country's ability to provide development financing.
Al-Mashat affirmed that the Egyptian government is increasingly interested in expanding partnerships with international financial institutions in the field of innovative financing and development guarantees, noting the importance of strengthening Egypt's cooperation with MIGA as a strategic partner in supporting the investment environment and enhancing the confidence of the international private sector in the Egyptian market.
Since 2012, the agency has covered investments worth approximately $500 million in the local market and has announced its commitment to supporting vital development sectors in Egypt, most notably renewable energy, sustainable transport, and building on successful partnerships with the private sector, especially in the Benban solar power plant in Aswan.
The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), organized an interactive workshop entitled "Enhancing Foreign Direct Investment in Egypt through World Bank Group Guarantees," to build capacities and enhance understanding of the guarantee tools provided by the World Bank Group within the framework of the new guarantees platform. By providing a presentation on ways to benefit from guarantee tools in financing projects or reducing their financing costs, in addition to presenting international experiences.