Amid a rapidly evolving global development landscape and declining concessional financing, Egypt’s Ministry of Planning held a high-level strategic meeting with the Executive Committee of the Development Partners Group (DPG). The session was co-chaired by UN Resident Coordinator Elena Panova and Sophie Vanhaeverbeke, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Egypt. Representatives from the World Bank, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the embassies of Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom also took part, signaling strong multilateral support for Egypt’s development agenda.
In her remarks, Minister Dr. Rania Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of the DPG as a strategic platform for aligning donor support, avoiding duplication of efforts, and ensuring that development initiatives remain consistent with Egypt’s national priorities. She stressed that the current global context demands more coherence, integrated planning, and results-oriented investments.
During the session, the Ministry outlined a national framework to modernize development cooperation in Egypt. The framework prioritizes five areas: increasing private sector participation by expanding blended finance and mobilizing capital across key sectors such as infrastructure and health; enhancing subnational planning to better localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); improving the efficiency of development finance through Egypt’s Integrated National Financing Strategy (E-INFS); advancing climate action via scaled-up green finance, carbon mitigation, and institutional capacity building; and deepening structural economic reform to enhance competitiveness and job creation.
Dr. Al-Mashat also addressed Egypt’s growing emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation. As chair of the Ministerial Committee for Entrepreneurship, she underscored the government’s commitment to fostering an enabling ecosystem for startups and SMEs, especially in information and communication technologies. She highlighted ongoing efforts to improve regulatory frameworks, expand access to financing, and support innovation as a driver of inclusive growth.
Linking labor policy to development outcomes, the Ministry reiterated its focus on reforming labor market policies in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and the National Wage Council. These reforms aim to protect workers’ rights, reduce unemployment, and ensure education and training align with market demands. The Ministry views job creation and economic growth as inseparable components of sustainable development.
As the session concluded, Dr. Al-Mashat affirmed Egypt’s readiness to work more strategically and transparently with development partners. She called the dialogue a reaffirmation of shared commitments and a testament to the importance of aligning international cooperation with the realities of domestic needs. Every development dollar, she noted, must yield measurable outcomes that promote resilience, inclusion, and long-term sustainability.
