Day: October 10, 2022

International Cooperation Minister Rania el Mashat starts a visit to Washington Monday to attend the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), which will start today and run until October 16.

The annual meetings of the two biggest financial institutions are taking place at an exceptional time, especially that the Russia-Ukraine war, in all its dimensions, is producing alarming cascading effects to a world economy already battered by COVID-19, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Further complicating these global development challenges are the effects of the high food, fuel, and fertilizer prices rippling through the supply chains of an interconnected world, creating global disruptions, added the statement.

The annual meetings of the IMF and the WBG will discuss crises which are facing development-related efforts along with creating the conditions necessary to avoid their recurrence going forward, according to the statement.

The statement also said that Mashat will attend a host of events, including the Intergovernmental G24 Ministers and Governors Meeting.

The minister will also attend a joint workshop that will be organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and in cooperation with the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Mashat will also a keynote speaker in a discussion panel that will be held by the IMF on ways to advance the overall development in the Middle East and North Africa.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The monthly inflation rate inched up by 1.6 percent in September compared to August, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

On a monthly basis, inflation recorded 133.8 points in September, it added.

Egypt’s annual inflation also rose to 15.3 percent in September, compared to 8 percent in the same month of 2021, CAPMAS said on Monday.

CAPMAS attributed the rise in the monthly inflation rate to the significant increase in the prices of food and beverages by 2.1%, vegetables by 6.2 %, dairy, cheese and eggs by 4.4%, and meat and poultry by 1.8 percent.

Prices of other commodities also increased by 4 percent, it further said.

Meanwhile, CAPMAS said that the increase in annual inflation in September compared to the same month last year came as a result of the rise in prices of food and beverages prices that rose by 21.5 percent, along with increases in commodity and services prices; including clothes which increased by 12.8 percent, water, electricity, gas and fuel that went up by 6.5 percent.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli asserted on Monday the importance of the National Initiative for Green Smart Projects to achieve sustainable development by outlining a map that helps investors to identify the priority green smart projects in all governorates.

Madbouli’s remarks came during his meeting to follow up on the executive situation of the initiative in the presence of Planning and Economic Development Minister Hala El Said and Hesham Badr, the general coordinator of the initiative.

Said clarified that a total of 6,281 projects applied for the initiative nationwide, 688 of which are large projects, 1,215 medium-sized projects, 899 small-sized projects, 655 start-up projects, and 1,789 non-profit projects in addition to 1,045 women projects.

As many as 162 projects were selected as per the evaluation criteria, the minister noted, pointing out that each governorate has projects covering the six priority areas of : waste recycling, energy, fighting pollution, reducing emissions, adaptation and sustainability.

The best 18 of all projects implemented within the initiative will be announced during the UN climate conference, COP27, to be held in November in Sharm El Sheikh in coordination with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Environment.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The International Cooperation Ministry reviewed the most significant features of development cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank Group (WBG).

This came in a report, issued by the ministry on Sunday 10/10/2022, in conjunction with International Cooperation Minister Rania el Mashat’s participation in the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & the WBG, held from October 10 to 16, under the theme “Unity in a Time of Crises”.

The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of Egypt’s most important multilateral development partners, and since 2014, great development within the framework of the country’s national agenda has been witnessed, including efforts to enhance multilateral cooperation, according to the report.

Egypt and the WBG share a development cooperation portfolio covering 14 ongoing projects worth almost $7 billion up until October, as well as 23 projects with technical support and consultancy. This is in addition to joint efforts to enhance private sector participation in development through cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both part of the WBG.

The cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the WBG includes several projects such as the: Strengthening Social Safety Nets Projects worth $900 million, the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program for Results worth $850 million, and the Upper Egypt Local Development project worth $500 million.

Moreover, the portfolio also includes the Supporting Egypt Education Reform Project worth $500 million, Catalyzing Entrepreneurship for Job Creation project worth $200 million, the Transforming Egypt’s Healthcare System Project worth $530 million, the Egypt Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Recovery project worth $360 million, Supporting Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System with $400 million, the Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management & Climate Change Project with $200 million, the Egypt COVID-19 Emergency Response with $50 million, the Railway Improvement & Safety for Egypt Project worth $440 million, the Cairo Alexandria Trade Logistics Development Project worth $400 million, and the Emergency Food Security & Resilience Support Project worth $500 million.

The ongoing development cooperation portfolio also covers a variety of sectors with water covering 13%, health, nutrition & population 15%, finance, competitiveness & innovation 18%, transportation 12%, social protection & jobs 13%, agriculture & food 7%, education 7%, environment, natural resources & blue economy 3%, macroeconomics, trade & investment 5%, and urban resilience 7%.

With regards to the cooperation with the MIGA, the portfolio includes $480 million directed to a variety of private sector companies, especially those operating in the field of renewable energy.

In 2022, the MIGA issued guarantees to Virtuo Finance at a value of $98 million in support of the Norwegian company Scatac, to help implement renewable energy projects in Egypt.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has asserted the importance of choosing the most qualified cadres to represent Egypt abroad and defend its interests at international forums.

Shoukry made the remarks as he attended oral exams of the Foreign Ministry’s recruitment process of new cadres to join Egypt’s diplomatic corps, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid tweeted Monday.

Source: State Information Service Egypt