Mohamed Farid, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, met with Ethiopis Tafara, Regional Vice-President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and his accompanying delegation to review the ministry’s priorities and plans for advancing the investment and foreign trade ecosystem, as well as to explore prospects for future cooperation.
The discussions focused on the ministry’s ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate, streamline procedures and enhance the efficiency of the corporate lifecycle in a manner that promotes transparency, strengthens governance and improves the overall business environment.
Farid emphasised that facilitating business operations and enhancing investor services remain among the ministry’s top priorities, noting that digital transformation is a cornerstone of the government’s reform agenda.
He added that Egypt is moving forward with a strategy aimed at deeper integration into global value chains and strengthening the competitiveness of the national economy through coherent trade and investment policies. He also highlighted ongoing coordination with ministries and relevant authorities to develop priority sectors and align government efforts.
The minister reviewed several initiatives aimed at expanding investment tools, including support for investment funds currently under development, such as the Joint African Fund, the Industrial Fund, and the Combat and Individual Sports Fund. He noted that these funds are expected to play a greater role in supporting investment expansion and economic growth.
Farid said the government is seeking to broaden the use of modern financing and investment instruments to strengthen the private sector’s capacity for growth and expansion while improving the allocation of investments to priority sectors.
The meeting also addressed efforts to modernise the regulatory infrastructure of financial markets and expand digital services. These efforts include the digitisation of share issuance procedures, the development of post-incorporation services, and electronic integration with five government entities to accelerate processes and improve corporate services.
The two sides further discussed a number of foreign trade initiatives, including the establishment of a regulatory sandbox to foster innovation and leverage technology to simplify procedures, improve the effectiveness of data-driven policymaking and better anticipate future trends.
Farid stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with international financial institutions to support the development of modern investment tools and reinforce the private sector’s role as a key driver of economic growth. He added that the guiding principles of the current phase are “speed, quality of implementation and evaluation”.
For his part, Tafara reaffirmed the IFC’s commitment to supporting Egypt’s economic reform programme, highlighting promising opportunities for collaboration in infrastructure, digital services and financial markets.
“We remain committed to supporting Egypt’s efforts to improve the investment climate and enhance market efficiency,” Tafara said, adding that the corporation looks forward to expanding cooperation in financial market development, digital services and infrastructure to help stimulate investment and support sustainable growth.
The meeting concluded with both sides underscoring the importance of continued coordination in the coming period to further improve the investment climate, enhance the effectiveness of financing mechanisms and strengthen integration between the public and private sectors.
