H.E. Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Holds Bilateral Meetings with the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and the Chairman of ACWA Power to Discuss Areas of Joint Cooperation

Zawya

5 days ago

As part of her participation in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, held in Tianjin from 23 to 26 June, focused on agile&innovative economic policies to manage evolving global trends, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, held two high-level meetings with Ms. Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum (WEF), and Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, Founder and Chairman of ACWA Power.
During her meeting with the WEF Managing Director, the two sides discussed the activation of the Letter of Intent signed in January 2025 during the World Economic Forum in Davos. The agreement aims to develop 'Egypt's Future of Growth Accelerator '. This initiative supports national efforts to advance inclusive economic development and draws on the expertise and insights of the WEF's Centre for the New Economy and Society.
Discussions also covered the ongoing collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the technical teams at the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation to operationalize the Accelerator in the coming period.
H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat also reviewed the integration between the proposed Accelerator and Egypt's soon-to-be-launched 'Advancing Economic Development in Egypt: Reforms for Growth, Jobs&Resilience' narrative. This narrative promotes a transition towards a private-sector-led growth model, focused on tradable and export-oriented sectors, enhancing foreign direct investment, and supporting industrial localization across the country.
In a separate meeting, H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat met with Mr. Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, to discuss the latest developments in the company's renewable energy investments in Egypt. The Minister emphasized that ACWA Power is a key partner in the implementation of renewable energy projects under the energy pillar of Egypt's NWFE (Nexus of Water, Food and Energy) platform. She highlighted the central role of international partnerships and blended concessional finance in unlocking greater private sector participation—both domestic and international—in Egypt's green energy transition.
H.E. the Minister reiterated the Egyptian government's commitment to creating an enabling environment for the private sector, enhancing its contribution to national development efforts across all sectors. She underscored that regulatory and legislative reforms are underway to strengthen private sector engagement, while simultaneously improving the governance and efficiency of public investments to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth.
The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation recently published the second progress report on the NWFE program. Under its energy pillar, the program aims to add 10 GW of new renewable energy capacity, backed by approximately $10 billion in investments, while phasing out 5 GW of fossil-fuel-based electricity generation by 2028.
Over the past two and a half years, Egypt has successfully mobilized $4 billion in concessional financing to support 4.2 GW of renewable energy projects. These efforts involve key global and regional partners, including Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, Masdar, Infinity Power, Norway's Scatec, UAE-based AMEA Power (a subsidiary of Al Nowais Group), as well as local developers such as Orascom Construction and Hassan Allam Utilities.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation - Egypt.