Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rustom praised the pivotal role of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a strategic development partner for Egypt over nearly 50 years, noting that its support has resulted in financing more than 300 private sector projects in the country.
This came during a bilateral meeting with IFC Regional Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara and World Bank’s Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Ousmane Dione along with a high-level delegation from the World Bank Group. The minister said the discussions focused on steps to enhance bilateral cooperation and review progress in activating a financing and guarantee mechanism for infrastructure projects, in line with Egypt’s vision to empower the private sector and advance comprehensive development under Egypt Vision 2030.
He added that the meeting included in-depth discussions on ongoing coordination between the government and the World Bank Group to operationalize an infrastructure financing and guarantee framework in Egypt. The mechanism aims to increase local currency financing flows, develop flexible long-term financing tools and reduce the capital cost of national projects.
Rustom emphasized that the government is steadily implementing economic reform measures, noting that the ministry’s upcoming vision places “quality of life” at the core of all public investments and development spending. He explained that the new guarantee mechanism is a key tool to meet national needs in sectors such as energy, transport, and urban development, while also protecting fiscal space and reducing pressure on the state budget by relying on local currency financing and attracting both domestic and foreign capital.