February 7, 2002
Many countries are still assessing how the downturn may affect their local communities in the wake of September 11, taking stock of who will be affected, and seeking advice from institutions like the World Bank.
As in many regions, countries such as Egypt have faced added pressure in recent months as a result of a decline in tourism, oil revenues and international trade. In an effort to recapture economic gains made over the past decade, the World Bank, along with other donors, this week organized a meeting focusing on Egypt.
The Consultative Group Meeting for Egypt, jointly organized by the Government of Egypt and the World Bank, concluded on Wednesday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The two-day meeting was attended by nearly 40 bilateral and multilateral donors who assessed the Government's financing needs to overcome economic challenges in the wake of the global economic slowdown.
This was the first time that the Egypt Consultative Group Meeting, which meets about every three years, was held in Egypt. The Meeting was formally opened by H.E. Prime Minister Atef Ebied.
Preliminary indicators are that the members of the Consultative Group are to commit an amount of $10.3 billion for the three year period 2002-2004 of which roughly $2.1 billion is in the form of quick-disbursing assistance for this year requiring a credible macroeconomic framework.
"The objectives of the Consultative Group Meeting were twofold—first, it provided Egyptian authorities the opportunity to share their short- and medium-term plans for macro-economic and social development," explained Mahmood Ayub, Country Director for World Bank operations in Egypt. "Secondly, it allowed the country to raise additional financial resources from donors to fill the financing gap that has arisen as a result of the negative impact of the September 11 events on the economy."
Among the issues discussed at the meeting were human and social development and private sector development. A special focus of this year's meeting was on the Social Fund for Development. The management of the Social Fund reviewed the origins of the Social Fund, its purposes and its accomplishments to date.
In his opening speech, Prime Minister Dr. Atef Ebied presented the country's recent economic performance and the government's strategies and action programs in several key areas, especially job creation, rural development and export promotion, needed to reduce poverty through faster growth and development. Parallel to ongoing Government efforts to broaden participation in policy setting, representatives of the private sector, NGOs, and think-tanks were invited to participate in the discussions.
Over the years, the World Bank Group has been an important partner in Egypt's development. World Bank lending in Egypt totaled $5.38 billion until 30 June 2000. The World Bank has lent mainly for agriculture, energy/power, and industry/mining. In recent years, Bank lending has also emphasized health and education.
The new World Bank assistance strategy for Egypt will focus on three areas: development of human resources (education and health), social protection, and rural poverty, all of which support Egypt's efforts to reduce unemployment and poverty.
Consultative Group Meetings serve as a platform for dialogue between developing countries and donors in which pertinent policy issues and aid financing are discussed. Egypt's last Consultative Group Meeting was held in Paris in 1999 where donors pledged $1.5 billion in grants and soft loans and $1 billion in long-term development loans.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
