Tomorrow, the National Wages Council (NWC) will meet to discuss the minimum wage for the private sector in light of recent economic developments.

The government will continue to implement the National Structural Reform Program to create a better business environment and open new avenues for private sector participation in development efforts.

We are closely monitoring compliance with the public investment ceiling to allow more opportunities for the private sector to lead economic development efforts.

We have completed the preparation of the Foreign Direct Investment and Industrial Development Strategies in coordination with the relevant ministries to establish a clear vision for attracting investments and localizing industry.

The framework of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation strengthens the state's focus on transforming to productive sectors and growth based on investment and exports.

The Ministerial Group for Entrepreneurship is working on developing a unified financing initiative to support over 5,000 startups and increase investments in the sector.

The Egyptian economy is showing positive developments despite the surrounding regional and international tensions, with the manufacturing sector leading growth in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The recovery of the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in January, recording the best performance in four years, reflects the positive impact of structural reforms and government actions to empower the private sector.

We allocated 7 billion Egyptian pounds from the reserves to enhance the electricity grid’s capabilities and support it with renewable energy projects.

We are working on preparing the Growth and Employment Report: the National Narrative for Economic Development, which includes an executive plan for economic targets and national strategies in coordination with the relevant ministries and authorities.

The international community must play its role in transforming towards a more efficient and equitable global financial structure in response to the challenges of developing countries.

H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, participated in the opening session of the Akhbar El-Youm Economic Conference, which was held under the title "Industry and Investment... The Government and the Private Sector... Together We Can." The session was attended by Lieutenant General Eng. Kamel Al-Wazir - Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Transport and Industry, Dr. Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mr. Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance, Eng. Abdel-Sadek El-Shorbagy, Chairman of the National Press Authority, Mr. Islam Afifi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akhbar El-Youm Foundation, and many representatives from the private sector, business community, and members of Parliament. 

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat also participated in the first session of the conference, which focused on the industrial sector as a driver for economic development in Egypt, alongside a group of investors and industrialists.

In her speech, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation explained that the Egyptian government works according to a clear and specific plan aimed at establishing macroeconomic stability, supporting its resilience against global changes, enhancing the flexibility of fiscal policies, improving the business environment, providing job opportunities for youth, and protecting the most vulnerable groups through comprehensive and sustainable social programs.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that the government prioritizes industrial development, human development, and entrepreneurship, which is reflected in the formation of specialized ministerial groups. This reflects the state’s focus on export-promoting sectors and localizing industries, with attention to human resource development and creating opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs to promote innovation and a knowledge-based economy.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat stated that while macroeconomic stability is essential, it is not sufficient for achieving economic development. Therefore, the government continues to implement the national structural reform program, during which many measures have been taken to improve the business environment and open up opportunities for private sector participation, including the implementation of an electronic investment licensing system, issuing energy origin certification regulations, and issuing a law regulating state ownership in companies it owns or participates in, among other measures.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also mentioned that the government has set a ceiling for public investments at one trillion pounds and the role played by the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation in monitoring compliance with investment targets across all state entities to open more opportunities for the private sector to lead the development wheel and achieve sustainable growth. The government also activated the Unified Public Finance Law to set an annual ceiling for public debt and determined an annual borrowing limit based on financial sustainability criteria.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted the results of these efforts, which reflected in the private sector’s share of investments, accounting for 63% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Furthermore, financing directed to the private sector exceeded that for the government in 2024 for the first time.

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation also noted that the ministry has been working closely with the Ministries of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Industry to formulate a strategy for enhancing foreign direct investment in Egypt (2025-2030), as well as the national industrial development strategy and trade enhancement in cooperation with the World Bank Group. She added that both strategies provide a clear roadmap and specific objectives to enhance the country's vision for attracting foreign direct investment and localizing industries, in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030, ensuring the country benefits from its vast resources and capabilities effectively.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat affirmed that this serves as a live and effective example of the importance of linking planning, economic development, and international cooperation files, which is one of the key structural reforms recently adopted by Egypt by merging these ministries to link economic plans with cooperation with international institutions, thus improving the investment climate and enhancing international partnerships to support the national development agenda.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat touched on the ministry's framework, which focuses on enhancing economic growth, increasing productivity, driving investment-based growth, and diversifying the structure of Egypt’s economy to shift from non-productive sectors to productive sectors that contribute to increasing exports, relying on private sector investments. She indicated that the ministry is currently preparing a report on growth and employment: the national narrative for economic development, which includes an executive plan for economic targets and national strategies in coordination with the relevant ministries and entities.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also referred to the ministerial group for entrepreneurship, pointing out that the group approved in its latest meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, the unified definition of startups, along with several incentives, facilities, and a proposal for a unified financing initiative for the sector, targeting more than 5,000 companies, including 500 companies attracting investments of over one million dollars, to enhance Egypt’s position as a regional hub for startups.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat pointed to the positive development in Egypt’s economy during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, recording a 3.5% growth, with the recovery of vital and productive sectors such as non-oil manufacturing industries, and continued growth in sectors like telecommunications and information technology, tourism, transportation, and storage. While regional and international challenges increase, Egypt’s economy is progressing steadily through measures taken by the state to maintain its stability and achieve the desired progress, with an expected growth rate of 4% by the end of the fiscal year. Recently, many positive indicators have been observed, including the increase in the Purchasing Managers’ Index to 50 points, achieving the best performance in four years, supported by the rise in production and sales in the non-oil private sector.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat emphasized that what distinguishes economic growth is not only its quantity but also the quality of growth, particularly the development of vital sectors such as non-oil manufacturing industries, reflecting the state's direction towards transforming into productive sectors that drive export rates.

The Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation revealed that, in light of recent economic developments, the National Wages Council is scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss the minimum wage for the private sector.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat discussed the development of investments in the renewable energy sector, with the government allocating 7 billion pounds from the development plan reserve for the current fiscal year to enhance the capacity of the electricity grid and add renewable energy projects to the grid.

H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat reviewed the global economic situation, explaining that we are facing a global scene marked by uncertainty, with ambiguous aspects being much larger than the clear and confirmed ones. She noted that with the trend toward expanding protectionist trade policies, if these policies are enacted and implemented, they will negatively affect the global economy in general and developing countries in particular, as well as impact global supply chains and global growth. She emphasized that developing countries and emerging economies are still trying to carve their way toward sustainable development and overcome challenges, especially in terms of debt accumulation.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat mentioned that what we are witnessing today places a great responsibility on the international community to continue and accelerate the reform of the global financial system to make it more efficient and fair, respond to the challenges of developing countries, ensure greater representation of these countries in the largest international institutions, and accelerate the reform of multilateral development banks, increase concessional financing, expand debt-for-development swap programs, and alleviate the debt burden, particularly for low-income countries.

H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that employment in the private sector is fundamental, stressing that sustainable growth is achieved through added value, with the private sector playing a major role in achieving that. There is full agreement on the importance of investment, industry, and investment in human capital, highlighting the importance of financing. Therefore, investment spending in priority sectors such as the electricity sector should be maximized to serve the private sector.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat reiterated that international partnerships and development finance from external institutions are not only directed to the government but also benefit the private sector. Egypt is considered a platform for attracting investments and development finance from abroad due to its credibility. Given the current challenges, regional clusters and intra-trade between Egypt and its neighboring countries will have significant importance in the coming period.