Egypt and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced that they have launched a country program consisting of 21 projects. The program was ratified in October 2021 and launched in September 2022.
The projects aim to create more employment opportunities, enhance the business environment, bolster digital transformation, promote innovation and AI technologies, encourage the adoption of AI responsible use principles, and push forward governance and anti-corruption. OECD Secretary-General, Mathiass Cormann, described Egypt’s progress in many economic reform areas as “impressive.” He also added that Egypt had been a top player in capacity building among the 19 countries having programs with the OECD in the MENA region.
Minister of Planning and Economic Cooperation, Hala al-Said, stated that Egypt had chosen to cooperate with the OECD because of its extensive experience with structural reform. The country has been cooperating with the organization since 2005.
The minister presented some pre-pandemic indicators on Egypt’s economic performance after the last economic reform program that began in 2016. In FY2019/2020, the economic growth rate was 5.6 percent, and FDI inflow increased by 19 percent. Also, expats’ remittances rose by 13 percent. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent, down from almost 12 percent in 2017, while inflation fell to five percent, down from over 30 percent in 2017. Further, the budget deficit to GDP was lowered to 8.2 percent, down from almost 10 percent in 2017.
Minister Said highlighted that Egypt had begun implementing the second phase of the National Structural Reform Programme. Its pillars were the efficiency of the labor market, boosting private sector investments, enhancing financial inclusion and access to finance, improving governance, and boosting human capital development.
The minister underlined that agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, tourism, and logistics were the leading sectors in the Egyptian economy. The government targets to elevate Egypt’s rank on the Global Security Index to 50 in 2024, up from 77 in 2022, in the agricultural industry, which contributes 19 percent to the labor market.
The manufacturing sector contributed to the GDP by 11.7 percent in FY2021/22, growing by 10 percent, and the rate is targeted to be 15 percent in FY2023/24. Regarding its share in employment, it was 12.5 percent in 2022 and is targeted at 18-20 percent in 2024.
The planning minister highlighted that SMEs provide 43.1 percent of jobs in the Egyptian economy. Their share in exports was 10 percent in 2020, targeted to be 20 percent in 2024.
