Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation:-
• Resilience in economic reform policies is necessary to overcome successive global crises
• The need for coordination between governments and various development partners to enhance resilience and innovate new mechanisms to confront challenges
• Private sector financing from development partners exceeded $10.3 billion over 4 years
• The principle of state ownership is the basic criterion for our relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners
• Egypt has implemented a framework for international cooperation to achieve integration between various development partners and maximize the benefit of each partner’s comparative advantage
• Arab financial institutions can play an effective role in encouraging South-South and triangular cooperation
During the activities of the second day of meetings of Arab financial institutions, which were held in the New Administrative Capital, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, participated in a discussion session on “Macro-financial policies to manage shocks and build resilience in an uncertain environment” which discussed the successive shocks to which the region was exposed, and the high rates of global inflation, commodity price volatility, geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, and the importance of designing fiscal and monetary policies and policies needed to build resilience.
The session was moderated by Mr. Fahad Al-Turki, Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund, and he spoke alongside Al-Mashat, as wella s Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, Ms. Nadia Fettah, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, and Dr. Fathi Zuhair, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, Dr. Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, and Mr. Ousmane Dione, Vice President of the World Bank Group for the Middle East and North Africa.
In her speech, Al-Mashat said that the current period, when the global economy is characterized by severe and successive changes as a result of the crises it is experiencing, continuing on one path of reform is difficult, as the necessary flexibility must be exercised to correct the path of economic reform in other directions.
She also stressed the necessity of coordination between various parties and strengthening international partnerships in order to enhance the ability to face challenges, as well as innovating new mechanisms to confront them, stressing at the same time the importance of achieving integration between the work of international financial institutions in order to enhance the effectiveness of economic reform programs implemented with different countries.
H.E. pointed out that the succession of global shocks affects the economic reform policies implemented by countries, noting at the same time the importance of encouraging private sector investments, especially in areas of green transformation such as water, food, and energy.
The Minister of International Cooperation stated that the Ministry deals with all international financial institutions and multilateral development banks other than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and that these relationships are based on state ownership and priorities, pointing out that our relations are not based on development financing only, but the implementation of programs to support macroeconomic policies as well as structural reforms.
She noted that Egypt has worked, through the framework of international cooperation and development financing, to create an environment for integration between various international financing institutions, whether the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the USAID and others, based on state ownership, to develop an integrated framework in which increasing joint financing is necessary, as well as maximizing efforts.
H.E. pointed out that one of the most important programs implemented with development partners is the Takaful and Karama Program, which has become a model in the field of social protection and investment in human capital, and the Universal Health Insurance Program.
The Minister stressed the importance of international financial institutions working in integration and harmony in order to exploit the comparative advantages of each institution in a way that maximizes the fruits of development and reform in different countries.
She stressed that Arab financial institutions have today become an active element in the international financial system, and their integration with international institutions can enhance efforts to exchange experiences and cooperate south-south.
Al-Mashat explained that despite the successive global crises since 2020 and the great demand from all countries for concessional development financing, Egypt succeeded through its relations with development partners, agreeing on development financing worth $38.8 billion during the period from 2020 to 2023, including $10.3 billion for the private sector, and the implementation of many projects that attract the private sector, stimulate investments, and support efforts to achieve sustainable development.