Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held a meeting with Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group, to discuss prospects for cooperation and strengthen the development partnership between Egypt and the World Bank. The meeting took place on the sidelines of his participation in the intensive programme of events accompanying the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok, Thailand.
During the meeting, the minister reviewed indicators of the Egyptian economy’s performance, stressing its growing ability to absorb shocks and achieve positive growth rates despite the complexities of the global economic landscape and regional geopolitical tensions.
Rostom also outlined to the World Bank’s senior management the main features of the national economic transformation programme formulated by the Egyptian government. The programme consolidates macroeconomic stability, builds on gains achieved through recent structural reforms, and focuses on stimulating investment and production.
The meeting featured extensive discussions on the implementation steps for an infrastructure project financing guarantee mechanism currently being developed in partnership with the World Bank.
Rostom stressed the importance and priority of the mechanism, describing it as a qualitative leap towards attracting private investment and providing innovative, long-term financing solutions in local currency. He emphasised that activating the mechanism could directly reduce investment risks for the private sector. He pointed out that this would help improve public spending efficiency, ease financing pressures on the state budget and support the sustainability of infrastructure projects.
The planning minister also met with Norwegian Minister of International Development Åsmund Grøver Aukrust to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between Egypt and Norway. The meeting was attended by Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
During the meeting, Rostom said Egypt was committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Norway and building on the cooperation and partnership between the two countries to support development efforts and advance their shared interests.
He noted that Egypt attached considerable importance to strengthening partnerships with international development partners to mobilise the resources and expertise needed to support national development priorities. Cooperation with Norway, he added, presented an important opportunity to explore new areas of joint work, particularly in light of global economic and development challenges.
For his part, the Norwegian minister praised the proposed mechanism and expressed Norway’s interest in learning more about its details and potential applications. He affirmed his country’s readiness to explore opportunities to participate in the initiative, supporting efforts to increase investment in infrastructure projects and opening new avenues for development cooperation between Egypt and Norway.