UK Secretary of State for International Development Alok Sharma and Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat have agreed to enhance economic cooperation on the side lines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit. In a Monday evening statement from the British embassy in Cairo , Sharma said "The UK is committed to deepening its bilateral cooperation with Egypt and growing our strong trading relationship. Our joint statement paves the way for us to intensify our economic partnership, and support Egypt to develop a sustainable economy that can benefit future generations." "The UK is a strategic partner to Egypt, and I look forward to strengthening the cooperation between our two countries. Together, we will work on the full implementation of the programmes in our joint statement," Al-Mashat commented. The future programmes are designed to achieve sustainable economic growth by delivering Egypt's 2030 vision, which is consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Al-Mashat said. Additionally, Egypt managed to turn its local market into a more organised and competitive investment destination, Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala Al-Saeed said on Tuesday during her participation in a session titled "Egypt as an Axis and Gateway for Trade and Investment in Africa” in the UK-Africa Investment Summit. The Egyptian government exerts intensive efforts to boost its economic cooperation and integration with African countries, Al-Saeed asserted, noting that the government is cooperating with the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to achieve the SDGs. Egypt implemented several projects to improve the country's infrastructure quality, stimulate investments, and enhance standards of living for the population , Al-Saeed said, noting that the projects include national network for roads and renewable energy projects. Al-Saeed pointed out the establishment of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) as one of the mechanisms to activate the partnership between the public sector, and the private sector, noting that the TSFE's capital will increase from EGP200bn to EGP 1 trn over the next period. The government is implementing a comprehensive plan to reform its administrative system in parallel with executing serious plans to transform digitally and encourage the use of electronic payment methods.
