• Dr. Hussein Issa: Empowering the private sector and strengthening its role as a key partner in economic activity

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Hussein Issa held a meeting this evening to review the main features of the executive plan for the second edition of the State Ownership Policy Document (2026-2030), ahead of issuing the plan's final version. Attending were Dr. Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development; Dr. Osama El-Gohary, Assistant Prime Minister and head of the Information and Decision Support Center; Dr. Hashem El-Sayed, Assistant Prime Minister and head of the State-Owned Companies Unit; and Saeed Arafa, Assistant Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, along with a number of officials from the ministries of finance, planning and investment. The meeting discussed a number of views and proposals to strengthen the executive plan and achieve the targets set out in the State Ownership Policy Document, foremost among them maximizing the role and contribution of the private sector in economic activity. Dr. Issa stressed that the document reflects a clear government drive to empower the private sector, strengthen its role as a key partner in economic activity and create a more competitive and attractive investment environment. He said current work aims to finalize the executive plan ahead of its release, ensuring a move from the policy's general framework to an integrated implementation system with clear targets that can be measured, monitored and evaluated. The Deputy Prime Minister said that strengthening the private sector's role in driving growth, and cementing its position as a key partner and player in economic development, is one of the main pillars of the government's approach in the current phase. He affirmed that the government will keep working to empower the private sector, build its capabilities and widen its participation across all areas of economic activity, while also encouraging foreign direct investment flows into the Egyptian market, in a way that sustains economic growth rates and enhances the competitiveness of the national economy. For his part, Dr. Osama El-Gohary, Assistant Prime Minister and head of the Information and Decision Support Center, reviewed the main features of the executive plan for the State Ownership Policy Document, "Deepening Reform and Maximizing Impact" (2026-2030). He explained that the second edition of the document was put to public consultation after its launch last June, that the various stakeholders were contacted to survey their views and receive their proposals, and that the views and expertise of a large number of specialists and experts were also drawn on. He said the executive plan reflects an evolution in the philosophy of handling state ownership and its role in economic activity, focusing on promoting competition and competitive neutrality, creating an economic environment more open to the private sector, and raising the efficiency of managing state-owned assets and maximizing their economic returns, based on an integrated government vision aimed at making the national economy more efficient and boosting confidence in the investment climate. Dr. Hashem El-Sayed, Assistant Prime Minister and head of the State-Owned Companies Unit, said the executive plan was prepared so that its targets are consistent with the country's economic and development priorities. He noted that the plan includes 31 main programs branching into about 100 executive measures, which will help support and empower the private sector and strengthen its role in economic activity, attract investment, energize the capital market, raise the efficiency of managing state-owned assets and companies, and strengthen governance. He added that the plan specifies the bodies taking part in implementing each program and measure, the timeframes, the targeted outputs and key performance indicators, ensuring clear roles and responsibilities, tight management of implementation, and periodic monitoring and evaluation of progress and of the extent to which targets are achieved.