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Arab Finance: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly reviewed the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development’s vision and action plan for the next three years, as per a statement.
The review took place during a meeting attended by Hussein Eissa, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and senior officials from the ministry.
At the outset, Madbouly underlined the pivotal role of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development within the economic group and in shaping the state’s overall economic direction.
He stressed that the government is building on previous achievements to develop a comprehensive national economic program with clear priorities for the coming period.
He also noted that intensive efforts have recently focused on finalizing Egypt’s vision for the post-agreement phase with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During this phase, a national narrative for comprehensive development was prepared with the participation of a group of experts and specialists. This narrative, he said, has since been updated to reflect observations from economists and experts.
The prime minister added that a three-year budget framework, derived from the state’s economic program, is scheduled to be presented to Parliament, stressing the importance of accelerating work on these key files.
For his part, Rostom outlined the ministry’s future vision for the next three years, explaining that it is based on the directives issued by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to the newly formed government.
He said the plan focuses on achieving economic development and maximizing production, enhancing energy resources, ensuring food security, and advancing human development.
It also aims to improve the economic situation and ensure a tangible positive impact on citizens’ quality of life, while continuing to implement the state ownership policy through concrete steps, increasing private sector participation in economic activity, and expanding into new growth-supporting sectors, particularly information technology, rare earth minerals, and related industries.
The plan also encourages innovation and supports research and applied technologies, prioritizing citizens’ health by facilitating access to healthcare services, alongside the sustainable development of the education system in all its dimensions.
Rostom added that the ministry’s objectives include raising growth rates across key sectors, including ports and logistics, industry, agriculture, tourism, communications and information technology, and investment.
He stressed that placing the citizen at the center of development means improving the quality and efficiency of all public services.
He further explained that the ministry’s strategic directions include accelerating the implementation of the comprehensive health insurance system, exploring cooperation with insurance companies to expand coverage across governorates, and maintaining close, ongoing oversight of assignments and projects through field visits to ensure timely execution.
The plan also relies on evaluating previous programs to identify achievements, shortcomings, and existing challenges, while prioritizing the completion of the presidential Decent Life initiative within the state’s investment plan.
According to Rostom, the ministry’s vision focuses on ensuring quality economic growth that supports employment, enhancing private sector participation, encouraging digital transformation and innovation, stimulating entrepreneurship, and directing public investments to priority sectors, alongside close monitoring of performance and implementation rates.
Rostom noted that diversifying development financing sources is another key pillar, alongside engagement with regional and international development initiatives, support for climate action and the transition to a green economy, and building qualified human resources capable of advancing development planning.
He explained that improving public investment management is based on new governance controls, including the adoption of complementary performance indicators and tighter integration between the Ministries of Finance and Planning and the National Investment Bank to align spending with program and performance budgeting.
Ongoing coordination with the Ministries of Local Development and Environment aims to ensure that funding is directed to viable projects in governorates, supported by performance incentives, training for investment planning personnel, and an electronic system to regulate transfers.
Rostom stressed that no new projects will be launched in sectors the state plans to exit, particularly manufacturing, in line with the State Ownership Policy and in support of private sector growth.
He added that the financing formula will be developed as a quantitative tool to ensure fair distribution of government investments among governorates, based on economic and social indicators reflecting development needs, while performance incentives at the level of central ministries will continue to improve spending efficiency.
The minister said public investments will be directed toward priority sectors with close monitoring, including securing funding to complete the first phase of the Decent Life initiative, while second-phase projects have been given priority within the investment plan.
He explained that the human development vision centers on improving living standards and achieving social justice through comprehensive health insurance coverage, education system enhancement, development of educational infrastructure, support for research and innovation, targeted investment in the most vulnerable regions and groups, strengthening social protection programs, and using objective criteria such as population density, service gaps, and poverty indicators in investment allocation.
On infrastructure, Rostom said priorities include supporting energy, water, and food security, protecting coastlines and ports, mitigating flood risks, and developing sustainable, smart, and green transport and logistics networks.
Measures include completing Decent Life projects with a focus on water and sanitation, expanding social housing, developing informal areas, bridging technological gaps, expanding renewable energy, supporting the Dabaa nuclear power plant, advancing seawater desalination projects in partnership with the private sector, recycling agricultural drainage water, and developing commercial ports to support Egypt’s goal of becoming a global logistics hub.
He added that regional planning will focus on three pillars: improving quality of life through priority infrastructure and basic services, green transition and environmental improvement through efficient solid waste management and renewable energy projects, and local economic development through upgrading industrial zones and economic clusters, particularly in Upper Egypt, supported by training and investment incentives to boost employment.
Addressing growth and employment targets for 2026 to 2029, Rostom said the plan aims to place economic growth on an upward trajectory, reaching between 6.5% and 7.5% by the end of 2030, driven by production, real-economy sectors, and exports.
He also highlighted plans to support entrepreneurship through the proposed Egypt Entrepreneurship Fund, designed to provide rapid, unified support for startups, alongside advancing data-driven planning through an economic data platform and expanded electronic integration with tax, customs, social security, and other economic bodies over the next three years.
