Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said some parties are seeking to create a public perception that citizens are not feeling the benefits of development, stressing that the achievements highlighted in a comprehensive presentation at the closing ceremony of the “Egypt Forum 2026” on Saturday provide a clear answer to this question.
Addressing the ceremony, held in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Madbouly said: “Before concluding my remarks, Mr. President, I would like to address a very important issue: some are trying to create a perception that citizens are not feeling the benefits of development, repeatedly asking when citizens will begin to feel its fruits.” “To the great Egyptian people, I say that what was presented in this historic presentation is sufficient to answer this question,” he added, citing a number of national projects and social initiatives.
Madbouly said the presidential “Decent Life” initiative aims to benefit 61 million citizens, while 18 million people are benefiting from its first phase, which is now nearing completion, including 11 million in Upper Egypt. He added that the state had eliminated unsafe residential areas by providing housing units for around 1.5 million citizens, asking whether these beneficiaries had not felt the impact of development.
Without state intervention, he said, many of these citizens could have suffered the same fate as others who died in building collapses caused by falling rocks, flash floods or electrocution from high-voltage power lines. The fruits of development, Madbouly continued, had enabled the state to spend billions of Egyptian pounds on citizens without seeking any financial return for the government, except the greatest and most important return: protecting lives, safeguarding children and working to secure a better future for families.
The prime minister noted that 5.5 million citizens are currently registered in the first phase of the Universal Health Insurance System in the governorates of Port Said, Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Suez and Aswan. He also pointed out that 63 million citizens had been screened for hepatitis C, with those in need receiving treatment, asking whether the initiative had not given a new lease on life to people whose futures had previously been at risk.
Madbouly cited 3.3 million medical procedures carried out under the initiative to eliminate waiting lists, asking whether the millions of beneficiaries had not benefited from development. He added that two million families had benefited from housing projects under the “Housing for All Egyptians” initiative and the development of governorate capitals.
This was in addition to around eight million people living in unplanned areas that the state is working to upgrade. The prime minister said the Suez Canal Economic Zone had attracted investments that created 164,000 jobs, benefiting young people and hundreds of thousands of others, while industrial complexes had provided an additional 50,000 jobs.