Egypt and the World Bank are discussing the expansion of innovative financing tools and investment guarantees to mobilise private sector capital and support structural reforms, the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation said on Sunday.
During a meeting in Cairo, Minister Rania Al-Mashat and World Bank Regional Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti Stefan Gimbert reviewed the “National Narrative for Comprehensive Development.” The framework prioritises human development, industrial growth, and the green transition, alongside efforts to improve labour market efficiency and govern public investment.
Al-Mashat stated that Egypt has adopted an approach that links development financing for budget support to specific, measurable reforms. These reforms target public finance management, the business environment, and human capital development.
The two sides discussed increasing the use of investment guarantees, particularly through the World Bank’s unified guarantee platform. This platform integrates instruments from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The ministry noted that these tools aim to attract large-scale investment into infrastructure and local development without adding direct burdens to the state budget.
The meeting also addressed the design of Program-for-Results (PforR) financing. This model links disbursements to the achievement of measurable indicators, which the ministry said improves resource allocation efficiency and enhances public service quality across Egyptian governorates.
Regarding local development, Al-Mashat highlighted the results of the Upper Egypt Local Development Programme. She called for expanding partnerships with the IFC to ensure the sustainability of these projects. Gimbert, who congratulated the minister on the completion of the second edition of the national narrative, reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Egypt’s application of innovative financing tools.
The talks further covered the reorganisation of grant and technical assistance governance to ensure alignment with state priorities and avoid duplication across projects. Discussions also focused on the IFC’s role in providing credit lines to commercial banks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and MIGA’s potential to provide guarantees forEgypt’s renewable energy and trade finance sectors.
