As part of Egypt's vision to strengthen economic and financial integration with fellow African countries, Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla took part in the "El Alamein–Africa Business Forum", hosted by Egypt in New Alamein City. The forum was opened by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and attended by heads of state and government, senior officials, business leaders, representatives of financial institutions and the public and private sectors, as well as investors and businesspeople from across Africa.

On Saturday, the Governor was a keynote speaker at a high-level session titled "A New Growth Compact for Africa in a Turbulent World", alongside Tanzanian Vice President Deogratius John Ndejembi and Corneille Karekezi, Group Managing Director and CEO of the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re). The session addressed the main challenges facing African economies and ways to boost sustainable growth and support financial and investment integration across the continent.

Opening his remarks, the Governor said Africa needs to build trust, strengthen joint financial cooperation and create enough jobs to absorb its rapidly growing youth population, which is at once the continent's greatest opportunity and its most important responsibility.

He noted that about 12 million young people enter Africa's labour market each year, while only about 3 million formal jobs are created. This calls for equipping them with the education and skills they need so they become a driving force for economic growth rather than a challenge to it.

The Governor urged African countries to adopt stable and predictable economic policies, along with clear economic frameworks and specific, measurable plans, to strengthen credibility and give investors and businesses a clear view of what to expect. He stressed that building confidence in the economy is essential to attracting investment and achieving sustainable growth.

Turning to the continent's financial architecture, the Governor said Africa needs stronger and more efficient financial markets, with a focus on easier access to finance, more robust banking systems and more efficient mechanisms for assessing African investments and creditworthiness. He stressed the importance of improving African countries' credit ratings and establishing an African credit rating agency, to help African economies access finance and investment on more efficient terms.

He also underlined the importance of boosting trade and cross-financing among African countries, noting that a large share of African capital leaves the continent for advanced markets before returning at a higher cost. This, he said, calls for increasing the circulation of capital within the continent and making the most of its financial resources.

The Governor also highlighted the importance of expanding the use of local currencies and increasing intra-African trade settled in African currencies instead of relying entirely on foreign currencies. He said that starting to settle part of trade transactions in local currencies could be a practical, gradual step toward this goal, supporting trade and investment and strengthening financial ties among the continent's countries.