Paris: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty expressed his appreciation for the close cooperation between Egypt and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), particularly the Country Program, which has been extended until the end of 2025. He described the program as a key pillar supporting the structural economic reforms being implemented at the national level, which have contributed to strengthening the resilience of the Egyptian economy and achieving positive growth rates despite geopolitical challenges and successive global economic crises. Abdelatty's remarks came during a meeting in the French capital Paris with the OECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann, as he leads the Egyptian delegation at the Executive Board meetings of UNESCO and spearheads Egypt's campaign for the position of UNESCO Director-General in the elections scheduled for today.

According to State Information Service Egypt, Abdelatty noted that national authorities are currently working on formulating an action plan for the next phase of the Country Program. He also highlighted ongoing government efforts to enhance private sector participation in Egypt's economic activity, create a conducive and attractive economic environment for investment in light of the 'State Ownership Policy' document, and provide tax and customs incentives for investors.

In addition, he emphasized the government's top priority on the social dimension, particularly in developing and expanding social protection programs such as 'Takaful and Karama' and 'Decent Life.' He expressed Egypt's aspiration for full coordination with the OECD Secretariat to begin preparing a comprehensive work program for the initiative aimed at developing its mechanisms and activities in line with the development priorities of the region's countries, particularly in the areas of competitiveness and governance, thus adding substantive value to the Country Program between Egypt and the OECD.