03:03 PM
Monday 06 September 2021
Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the Islamic Development Bank’s cooperation portfolio with Egypt exceeded $13 billion, as Egypt is one of the founding countries of the IDB group, according to a statement from the Ministry of Planning today, Monday.
The minister added that Egypt has more than 345 joint projects with the Bank Group in various fields, such as the fields of infrastructure, new and renewable energy, supply commodities, investment in the human element and agriculture.
This came during her meeting with Bloomberg Economic Channel on the sidelines of her recent visit to Uzbekistan to attend the 46th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group.
Al-Saeed explained that a large group of projects amounting to about 290 projects have been completed, and another group is being completed.
On the small and medium enterprises sector, Al-Saeed confirmed that the sector enjoys great support from the Islamic Development Bank Group, explaining that the bank group includes a number of institutions, including the institution for supporting trade and others concerned with securing trade and investment, as well as a special institution for supporting the private sector.
She pointed out that all these institutions have a large activity in Egypt, stressing that Egypt welcomes this activity and the recent opening of a headquarters for the Islamic Bank in Egypt.
Al-Saeed confirmed that Egypt is one of the 11 member states that include a branch of the Islamic Bank, which indicates political and economic stability and sustainable development in Egypt in the current period, stressing that the Islamic Bank group countries praised the presidential initiative “a decent life” and Egypt’s ability to confront Corona.
The Minister was at the 46th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group, which was held in Uzbekistan, in her capacity as Egypt’s governor to the IDB. On the sidelines of her participation, she held a number of bilateral meetings with the leaders of the Bank and the Ministers of Uzbekistan, and participated in a number of side events during the meeting’s activities.
The Minister discussed with Eng. Hani Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the position of issues of cooperation between Egypt and the Corporation and the establishment of an exporters academy.
The Minister also discussed with Osama Al-Qaisi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, aspects of cooperation between Egypt and the institution, as they discussed the trend towards the approval of member states to increase the capital of the institution to meet the increasing demands from countries for its services, especially with regard to its services. Guaranteed by investment and export credit.
The bilateral meetings included the Minister’s meeting with Dr. Muhammad bin Suleiman Al-Jasser, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, to discuss the position of issues of cooperation between Egypt and the Bank Group.
The Minister also met with Dr. Jamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction in Uzbekistan, where the two sides discussed during the meeting areas of cooperation between the two countries and related files. During the meeting, Al-Saeed reviewed a number of important files that the ministry is working on in light of the presence of a large number of competencies The similarities between the two ministries, especially with regard to public investments and controlling economic performance rates.
The Minister also met with Ayman Al-Sijini, CEO of the Private Sector Development Corporation, one of the member institutions of the Islamic Bank Group concerned with the development of the private sector in member states. The meeting touched upon cooperation in the field of Islamic sukuk in light of the institution’s experience in this field.
The two parties also discussed encouraging the role of the private sector and the accumulated experience of the Foundation and the Islamic Bank, and the role of the Foundation, especially in stimulating the private sector during the pandemic, as well as discussing cooperation in the field of economic empowerment of women in many projects, according to the statement.
Al-Saeed concluded the set of bilateral meetings with Umurzakov Oktamovich, Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Affairs and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan, to discuss opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting, Hala Al-Saeed emphasized the remarkable progress of relations between Egypt and Uzbekistan over the past years, especially during the visit of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2018, expressing her gratitude for visiting Uzbekistan for the first time, and for the opportunity to discuss potential opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
At the opening of the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Minister gave her speech, which revolved around the changes that the world is currently witnessing as a result of the Corona pandemic, and the policies taken by Egypt to confront the crisis.
It also participated in the side event entitled “Sharia-compliant Green Finance”, which was held virtually on the sidelines of the Bank Group’s annual meetings of its Boards of Governors, in addition to its participation in the Governors Round Table.
During the round table, the Minister stressed that one of the main factors for the success of the Egyptian experience in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, which made it praised by many international institutions, is the country’s rapid move by taking proactive policies that relied on a clear and deliberate plan that maintains a balance between preserving the health of the citizen and the continuation of the wheel of economic activity.
During the meetings, Egypt succeeded in obtaining the approval of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank to organize the annual meetings of the bank’s governors next year. Dr. Hala Al-Saeed submitted Egypt’s request to the Board of Governors of the Bank and confirmed Egypt’s desire to host the annual meetings to confirm the importance of the Egyptian role within the Islamic Bank.
Al-Saeed also announced that Egypt will host for the first time the third meeting of the Governance Council of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program next December, to take over the presidency of the council for a year.
.