Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom affirmed that the Egyptian state attaches great importance to empowering the private sector as the main driver of economic growth and sustainable job creation. Rostom made his remarks during a series of intensive meetings with representatives of international institutions, where he presented Egypt's Infrastructure Finance Guarantee Facility (IFGF), on the sidelines of the fourth day of the 81st Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), being held in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The minister began his meetings with a joint session with Pietro Lazzeri, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Governor of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and Manuel Sager, Deputy Director-General and Head of Multilateral Relations at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
During the meetings, Rostom highlighted the central objective of the IFGF, which is to provide the financing guarantees needed for nationally prioritized projects in order to stimulate and expand private sector participation. He explained that the facility focuses on vital sectors, including seawater desalination, wastewater recycling, green transport, distributed renewable energy (DRE), and the development of industrial zone infrastructure.
These efforts are intended to reduce carbon emissions while enhancing investors' productive capacities and competitiveness. The planning minister underscored the paramount importance the state attaches to empowering the private sector as the main driver of economic growth and sustainable job creation, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy, and green projects.
He also reviewed the package of structural and economic reforms recently adopted by the government to strengthen macroeconomic stability and improve public finances. Rostom noted that the Egyptian economy had achieved a growth rate of 5.1% in the last fiscal year despite regional geopolitical shocks, adding that the outlook for the current fiscal year remains positive, supported by rising foreign exchange reserves and growth in foreign assets.
For their part, the international officials commended the IFGF and the promising opportunities it offers, expressing their institutions' interest in exploring ways to participate effectively in the facility and benefit from it to support and finance infrastructure projects in Egypt.
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