Supporting the Egyptian economy…an expanded ministerial meeting to discuss enhancing public investments

Public investment management methods are witnessing a major boom with increasing reliance on digital technology and smart data to enhance spending efficiency and make the most of available resources. Directing investments towards projects with the greatest economic and social returns has become a strategic priority in order to support the economy, as financial planning and institutional performance link monitoring implementation and success indicators to ensure the sustainability of development and the effectiveness of government programs.

Therefore, the role of national financial institutions is highlighted as an investment and development arm to support the state’s plans in various sectors, by activating partnerships between the government and the private sector and integrating innovative financing tools. Investing in sustainable projects, supported by data and digital analysis, is a major means of supporting the economy and creating job opportunities, ensuring the improvement of the standard of living of citizens and building an economy capable of facing the challenges of the future.

Efforts to enhance the efficiency of public investments

In this context, Dr. Hussein Issa, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Dr. Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held an expanded meeting aimed at discussing the efforts made to support the Egyptian economy and achieve comprehensive economic development.

This came to enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of the economic and social development plan by increasing the efficiency of public investments, closely monitoring availability and linking them to actual implementation rates, as well as following up on efforts to digitally link databases between the Ministries of Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance, along with the authorities concerned with public investment management.

These efforts and meetings come from the state’s belief in the importance of supporting the Egyptian economy in achieving comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal (16) peace, justice and strong institutions, Goal (17) convening companies to achieve the goals, Goal (8) decent work and economic growth, and Goal (9)Industry, innovation and infrastructure.

During the meeting, Dr. Ahmed Rustom stressed the importance that the state attaches to efforts to enhance public investments, given its role in supporting the economy. The ministers also discussed the implementation of economic and social development plan projects on the one hand, and benefiting from national companies to participate in the new initiatives introduced by the Ministry of Planning, especially in the field of employment, entrepreneurship and emerging companies. The meeting also discussed proposals to support emerging investments in all their forms.

Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public investments

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development explained that the government aims for government institutions to play a greater role during the coming period in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of public investments in cooperation with the Ministries of Planning and Finance, by linking databases between the competent authorities, especially with the trend to implement the program and performance budget, which is reflected in linking the disbursement of financial allocations to the actual implementation rates of projects and measuring the performance of units of the state’s administrative apparatus. In this context, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development directed the provision of the necessary resources for the continued development of the information infrastructure and the use of the latest technological techniques to achieve That.

Dr. Ahmed Rostom added that future trends to maximize the efficiency of public investments are consistent with presidential mandates to achieve economic development, improve the economic situation and increase the participation of the private sector in the national economy, which will ultimately reflect on raising the standard of living of the Egyptian citizen and improving the quality of life.

Putting the citizen’s priorities at the heart of the economic plan

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development stressed the existence of a comprehensive vision for economic and social development, to implement the presidential directives that citizen priorities should be at the heart of any plan, and that state projects should rely on clear feasibility studies, innovative financing tools, and effective partnerships that ensure sustainability and achieve the highest development return, which is directly linked to the public investment governance file.

This depends on developing an accurate system for prioritizing projects, following up on their implementation and evaluating their impact, and implementing the directives of Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, to adopt clear performance indicators to ensure that resources are directed to priorities with the greatest economic and social return, and to raise the efficiency of implementing projects included in the economic and social development plan.

In conclusion, the article highlights the vision adopted by the state in transforming its financial institutions into effective tools in supporting the economy and achieving socially and economically sustainable development, as it goes beyond the traditional role of financial management to enable public investments to achieve the highest possible economic and social returns. The digital link between databases and integration with the Ministries of Planning and Finance reveals a more accurate and professional approach to directing resources, which enhances the transparency of performance and the effectiveness of implementation.

The Earth Guards Foundation appreciates this vision based on the fact that investing in sustainable projects, while placing citizen priorities at the heart of plans, contributes to achieving decent work, supporting the economy, and raising the quality of life for citizens. By integrating innovative financing tools and establishing effective institutional partnerships, the entities concerned with public investment management become a true arm for economic and social development, for current and future generations.