OPEN// President Sisi affirms keenness on furthering cooperation with IFC
CAIRO, June 15 (MENA) - President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Sunday emphasized Egypt's keenness on strengthening collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), particularly in light of the ongoing regional developments that pose formidable challenges for development programs.
President Sisi made the remarks during a meeting with Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Makhtar Diop, who agreed with the president on the importance of boosting cooperation and stressed the IFC's commitment to maintaining fruitful cooperation with Egypt.
The meeting was attended by Vice President and General Counsel for IFC Ethiopis Tafara and Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania al Mashat.
During the meeting, President Sisi praised IFC's cooperative relations with Egypt over the past years, according to Presidential Spokesman Mohamed el Shennawy.
The meeting explored opportunities for joint efforts to enhance investment flows into Egypt and to facilitate financing for the private sector.
President Sisi underscored the importance of providing competitive financing rates to reduce costs. He noted that Egypt is adopting a series of policies as well as structural and economic reforms aimed at maintaining financial and economic stability.
The President affirmed that the state is committed to boosting the private sector's role in economic activity and development and is working to bolster private sector confidence in the economy by offering numerous tax and customs facilities to reduce costs and streamline procedures.
Additionally, the government is launching initiatives aimed at increasing exports, developing productive and service activities, and expanding public-private partnership projects.
For his pasrt, IFC's managing director lauded Egypt's economic reform measures, which enhance investor confidence and improve the investment climate.
He asserted that joint programs between both parties will continue to further advance cooperation and support the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. (MENA)
A A E/M O H
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily News Egypt
4 hours ago
- Daily News Egypt
Al-Sisi urges expansion of local car manufacturing during inspection of state-owned auto plants
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi underscored the importance of accelerating the country's automotive manufacturing strategy during a meeting on Monday with Lieutenant General Mokhtar Abdel Latif, Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), according to a presidential statement. During the meeting, Al-Sisi was briefed on AOI's current projects, including its industrial partnerships with international companies—most notably French carmaker Stellantis. The President highlighted the need to increase the proportion of local components in manufacturing, enhance export capacity, reduce import dependency, and preserve foreign currency reserves. As part of the visit, Al-Sisi inspected locally assembled Citroën C4X vehicles, which feature 45% domestic content. The model is manufactured at AOI's facilities through a joint effort with the Arab American Vehicles Company (AAV) and Stellantis. According to Abdel Latif, the production plan for the Citroën C4X began in August 2023, with the first models completed in March 2025. Production is projected to reach 7,000 units annually over a four-year period, totalling 28,000 vehicles. Looking ahead, AOI is preparing to begin production of a new Stellantis car model by the end of 2026. The model, expected to achieve a production volume of 240,000 units, will be manufactured exclusively in Egypt—marking a significant milestone, as it will not be produced in any other Stellantis facility worldwide. President Al-Sisi also called for deeper cooperation with both local and international private-sector partners, reaffirming Egypt's broader national objective of localising the automotive industry and scaling up vehicle exports.
Egypt Today
5 hours ago
- Egypt Today
Egypt forms ‘Crisis Committee' to monitor repercussions of Iranian-Israeli military escalation
CAIRO – 16 June 2025: Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has issued a directive to establish a high-level "Crisis Committee" tasked with monitoring the repercussions of the ongoing military escalation between Iran and Israel and preparing for potential impacts across multiple sectors. Cabinet Spokesperson Counselor Mohamed El-Homossany stated that the committee will be chaired by the Prime Minister and will include key officials such as the Governor of the Central Bank and the Ministers of Industry, Planning and Economic Development, International Cooperation, Electricity and Renewable Energy, Finance, Supply and Internal Trade, and Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Representatives from the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, along with members of the General Intelligence Service and the Administrative Control Authority, will also participate. El-Homossany added that Prime Minister Madbouly will hold regular meetings with the committee and is currently intensifying consultations with various advisory bodies to assess the evolving situation and its potential impact on the Egyptian economy, energy sector, food security, and national security. For the fourth day in a raw, Iran and Israel have exchanged the launch of missiles and drones, killing dozens and injuring hundreds in both countries, besides bombing vital nuclear and scientific facilities. Iran said that most of the killed people are women and children, in addition to several nuclear scientists and military leaders.
Mada
5 hours ago
- Mada
Sumud caravan to Gaza suspends operations after Cairo, LNA block movement
After days of intimidation by eastern Libyan authorities and the arrest of at least 13 participants, the Sumud caravan, which had set off from Tunisia last week in an attempt to break the siege in Gaza, announced Monday that it would forego the remainder of its journey, organizers told Mada Masr. 'We were supposed to reach the Rafah border crossing today, but that didn't happen because the authorities in eastern Libya refused to allow us to pass. They made it conditional on getting official approval from the Egyptian authorities — approval that Egypt never gave. The Libyan side told us: If you don't get a permit from Egypt, we can't allow you to proceed toward the border,' an organizer of the caravan said. An eastern Libyan government official, an Egyptian official and an Egyptian researcher close to sovereign bodies in Cairo said that Cairo requested authorities in eastern Libya block the delegation from continuing through Libya. Egypt, the eastern Libyan government official told Mada Masr, was keen to avoid potential embarrassment amid growing pressure to allow the activists to reach Rafah and push for aid delivery and an end to the siege on food and medicine in Gaza. The caravan, dubbed the Sumud Delegation, left Tunisia last week with around 14 buses and 100 vehicles. Even though the 1,500 people — whose numbers would swell as more people from Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Sudan joined their ranks — were not carrying aid, organizers presented the delegation as a 'symbolic act.' Their departure from Tunisia into western Libya at the beginning of last week went smoothly at first, a member of the caravan told Mada Masr. 'As we moved from city to city, people went out to greet us in the streets, waving Palestinian flags, sprinkling rose water on our vehicles, ululating with joy. It was a spontaneous, genuine scene. In every city we stopped, there was food waiting, sweets, invitations to stay the night and offers to help,' the member said. But all of that came to a halt on Thursday evening, when the caravan reached the outskirts of the city of Sirte, the effective dividing line between east and west Libya, which is governed respectively by the Libyan National Army under Khalifa Haftar and the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity. 'It felt like we had fallen into a void,' a second member of the caravan told Mada Masr, describing arriving at the entrance to the city. 'We thought we were simply moving between Libyan cities, but, at that moment, it felt like we had crossed into a different country.' Over the next several days, the caravan faced intimidation from eastern authorities under the sway of Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. Plainclothes security officers infiltrated the caravan, one participant said, 'sitting near our tents, watching our movement, asking questions about everything.' Eastern authorities split the group into three separate convoys. They then imposed a total communications blackout and prevented movement and access to supplies, confining participants in a state of both security isolation and humanitarian chaos. Those who left were not allowed to rejoin the main group, which remained stranded for three days awaiting permission to continue east toward the Egyptian border. 'At night, in the thick darkness, there was no electricity, no toilets, barely enough water — only the dim light of phone screens,' the first participant said. 'Even aid deliveries were barred until the second night, only allowed in after interventions by the Red Crescent and donors from Misrata. The aid was meticulously searched by the same men in plain clothes, scattered among us.' In the ensuing days, a number of participants were arrested, including activist and blogger Abdel Razzaq Hammad. The Libyan National Human Rights Commission called on eastern authorities to release those detained, holding relevant authorities fully responsible for their safety and fate. The two participants described personal belongings being stolen, participants being searched or detained without legal warrants, and the assault on the convoy's spokesperson, who was beaten and dragged away wrapped in a blanket, only to be released after an officer intervened. By Saturday morning, the caravan decided to retreat from Sirte, heading back to the west, 200 kilometers outside Misrata. There, organizers tried to negotiate with eastern authorities and find alternatives. 'Our hearts are broken. We can no longer bear the images coming out of Gaza. If no one else will move, then let us. Don't stop us from trying to stop the genocide of women and children, to stop lives being taken away while we stand helpless,' the first participant said at the time. The situation escalated after pro-eastern Libya figures and media outlets circulated video clips of a supposed participant saying that 'Sirte was part of the organization' and began smearing the convoy as co-opted by the Muslim Brotherhood. According to an eastern government official, however, the decision to block the convoy's progress was not down to any offense or suspicion of Islamist activity. Instead, Egyptian officials had communicated with authorities in eastern Libya, urging them not to permit the convoy through due to lack of permits and approvals, and to spare Egypt embarrassment, according to the Libyan source. A source at a research center affiliated with sovereign bodies in Egypt and an Egyptian official acknowledged the pressure from Cairo. 'When the caravan was coming closer to the Egyptian western borders, the state requested the Libyan authorities intervene to avoid a border situation,' the Egyptian official said. Egypt has in recent days arrested and intimidated international activists who converged in Cairo to partake in the Global March to Gaza. The march organizers directed all participants to leave Egypt on Monday and suspended plans to head to Rafah. In its announcement of the end of the convoy, the organizers of the Sumud Delegation said that 13 participants continued to be held in custody and called for their immediate release.
