Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat highlighted the government’s work on measures to ensure a thriving ecosystem for the years to come during a UNIDO virtual event.

In a 1.5 hour long discussion during the ‘Globalization at the Crossroads: Risk, Resilience and Recalibration in Global Trade and Value Chains’ event on Tuesday, Al-Mashat spoke on rethinking the model of trade and services as crucial to move forward after the pandemic.

‘Globalization at the Crossroads: Risk, Resilience and Recalibration in Global Trade and Value Chains’ was part of the 2020 Forum on Globalization and Industrialization (FGI), a series of annual forums jointly organized by UNIDO, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) and the Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG).

Susan Lund, a partner of McKinsey & Company and a leader of the McKinsey Global Institute, and Li Yong, director general of UNIDO, were part of the panel that discussed the technological shifts for global value chains (GVCs) and its challenges and opportunities.

At the event, the minister highlight Egypt’s commitment to pushing the state’s multilateral agenda forward through pushing the frontiers of international cooperation.

She went on to mention that the results of multilateralism can be seen in recent economic indicators of Egypt’s emerging economy, which was noted as the only economy to escape a recession in 2020 by the IMF and EBRD.

“There was the rhetoric of deglobalization, but as we progressed during the year, we reached the conclusion that no country or market operates in isolation, and the fact remains that we still operate in a hyper-connected world,” Al-Mashat added.

The minister continued on, stating that innovation, particularly in developing countries, as well as rethinking the model of trade and services, will be crucial in promoting a positive recovery when moving forward post COVID-19.

As an emerging economy, Egypt’s adoption of several measures to improve MSMEs’ resilience and creating a cohesive ecosystem was to ensure the private sector would thrive over the upcoming years, she added, continuing to say that through structural reforms, the country has created a predictive policy environment that was essential in improving governance and creating a more transparent macroeconomic framework.

“The potential for a green recovery and environmentally conscious investments are finding their way into the spotlight, which pushes for a globalized agenda as ESG principles are now rules that all governments and companies must follow,” she added.

COVID-19’s impact on the world has given us a look at how a lack of diversification in sourcing strategies and overreliance on key global markets increases vulnerability to global shocks.

This provides an opportunity for emerging economies to become important destinations for trade and sourcing. They are able to offer a clear advantage and a vast number of opportunities for firms and businesses in search of new markets, particularly during current uncertainty, which accelerates the transition to inclusive and sustainable development both globally and locally.

The Ministry of International Cooperation (MoIC) has secured a total of $3.19 billion in cooperation with several development partners including the European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, and the French Development Agency. The 3 billion, collected entirely in 2020, has been committed to supporting MSMEs and the private sector.

The rise of new technologies and digital transformations due to COVID-19 are some of the trends emerging economies can capitalize on, representing opportunity for a fundamental change in the future of international production.

For the past several years as part of their Egypt Vision 2030, Egypt has been devoted to supporting and encouraging digitalization in order to lessen disruptions and optimize operations in both the public and private sectors.

Most recently, they have provided funding worth EGP 100 million from Saudi Arabia to the Bank of Alexandria to support the digitization of small and medium enterprises

Currently, there are 18 ongoing projects being implemented worth 37 million dollars in cooperation with UNIDO, which come within the framework of the Program for Country Partnership (PCP) aimed to provide sustainable solutions for inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

MoIC has been regularly applying the principles of economic diplomacy in efforts to strengthen the “Global Partnerships for Effective Development”.

These include organizing multi-stakeholder platforms to ensure that all projects between development partners are streamlined and effectively coordinated; adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative, defined by the triple Ps of People Projects Purpose (P&P&P); and mapping ODA financing to SDGs for all projects with multilateral and bilateral development partners.

Earlier this week, Minister of Planning and Economic development, Hala El-said, also spoke on the government’s implementation of many reforms that are aimed at achieving comprehensive growth and macro-economic stability in a separate conference.