The Production Transformation Policy Review (PTPR) of Egypt is the result of an in-depth policy review consensus building process.
The PTPR process has been co-ordinated by the OECD Development Centre. It has benefited from co-operation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has also contributed to the process. The report and the PTPR process have come together under the strategic guidance of Annalisa Primi, Head of the Economic Transformation and Development Division at the OECD Development Centre. Vasiliki Mavroeidi (OECD Development Centre), acted as project co-ordinator and main analyst. Stephen Karingi (ECA), Lily Sommer (ECA), Piergiuseppe Fortunato (UNCTAD), Anders Isaksson (UNIDO), Frank Hartwich (UNIDO), Ahmed Rezk (UNIDO) and Manuel Toselli (OECD Development Centre) contributed to the drafting. Ahmed Badawy (OECD Development Centre) provided research assistance. The report benefited from valuable comments from Temwa Gondwe (Afreximbank), Alin Horj (OECD), Mariarosa Lunati (OECD), Luis Padilla and Lorenzo Pavone (OECD Development Centre). Antonela Leiva and Eugenia Klimenka (OECD Development Centre) provided valuable administrative support. Delphine Grandrieux and Elizabeth Nash co-ordinated the publication process. Aida Buendia and Irit Perry contributed to the publication process. The report benefited from editing by Chris Marquardt.
The PTPR of Egypt was implemented at the request of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and was carried out in co-operation with the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC). The authors relied on the knowledge, experience and support of two administrations during the entire process. The authors are immensely grateful to H.E. Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt for her excellent leadership of the PTPR process in Egypt, and for facilitating the participation of Egyptian authorities in the review, and to Eng. Tarek Kabil, former Minister of Trade and Industry, for his valuable support during the project kick-off. We are also grateful to H.E. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, for her profound vision and synergies, H.E. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, for his valuable support, and H.E. Amr S. Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, for his co-operation during the review. The authors thank Ahmed Kamaly, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Ahmed Kouchouk, Deputy Minister of Finance, and Ambassador Omar Abou Eich, Assistant of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for their support of the PTPR process and participation in the 13th Plenary Meeting of the Policy Initiative for Global Value Chains (GVCs), Production Transformation and Development. We are also grateful to Nermine Abulata, Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Industry, for her excellent support, guidance, and professionalism during the whole process. The authors would like to thank the two Executive Directors of IMC during the implementation period, Mohamed Abdel Karim and Amr Taha, for facilitating the implementation process and enabling access to information and people. We also thank Ahmed Maghawry, Chairman, Egyptian Commercial Services (ECS) at MTI, for his valuable participation in the Peer Learning Group (PLG) of the PTPR of Egypt, as well as Mostafa Shaykhoun, Minister Plenipotentiary for Economic and Commercial Affairs, ECS, for providing invaluable support in getting the project off the ground and continuing to provide strategic guidance throughout. We give our thanks to Hossam Osman, Advisor to the Minister for Technology Innovation, Electronics Industry and Training (MCIT), Yasser Mohamed Abd-El-Bary, Program Manager, Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), and Ramy Ahmed Fathy, Executive Director for Industry 4.0 Planning at the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA). The report has benefited immensely from the efforts and commitment of the PTPR local team, led by Shady Fathy, Deputy Director for International Projects at IMC, and Sara Noaman, Senior Economist at MTI, who provided invaluable support in facilitating project implementation and overall co-ordination with local counterparts. Elizabeth Kalishian and Nader Saad at IMC also provided valuable information. Mohamed Attiyah provided indispensable support in co-ordinating contributions from MCIT. Ghada Kandil and Khouloud Elhakim, also at MTI, co-operated in the overall co-ordination of the project. Mohamed Elwazeer, the former Chief Technical Advisor at Development Projects Council at MTI, was invaluable for getting the project off the ground.
The Egyptian diplomatic authorities in France were essential in ensuring effective project implementation and communication with local counterparts. We are thankful to the Ambassador of Egypt to France, H.E. Alaa Youssef, and the former Ambassador H.E. Ehab Ahmed Badawy for supporting the project and participating in the PLG of the PTPR of Egypt. We are also grateful to Sayed Fouad, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of the Egyptian economic and commercial office for his support. Mostafa Safwat, Second Secretary and Shaimaa Hedaya, Third Secretary, helped to ensure smooth co-operation.
Peer learning and knowledge sharing lie at the heart of the PTPR process. This report has been shaped and enriched by the contributions of international peers who actively participated in PTPR activities and contributed ideas to the review. We are grateful to Ambassador Antonio Bernardini, Permanent Representative of Italy to the OECD and to Alessandra Pastorelli for their support of and interest in the PTPR process. We thank Teodoro Miano, Vice President, International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), for participating as a peer. We are also grateful to Rob Cayzer, Executive Director, Yasaar, Malaysia (former Head of Investment, Mara Corporation), who participated as a peer.
Valuable input emerged at the three Peer Learning Group (PLG) meetings that took place virtually during 2020, as dictated by the ongoing circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which collectively saw the participation of more than 127 high-level participants from 27 countries, 9 private sector entities from Egypt and abroad, 8 international organisations and 3 OECD Directorates. We are thankful to (in alphabetical order): Paolo Carnazza, Senior Officer, Directorate-General for Industrial policy, Innovation and SMEs (DGPICPMI), Ministry of Economic Development, Italy; Fatoumata Fofana, Executive Secretary, AfCFTA National Committee, Côte d'Ivoire; Karl-Christian Göthner, Senior Expert, German National Metrology Institute (PTB), Germany; Tania Katanga, Consultant, Export Development Department, Afreximbank; Keun Lee, Professor of Economics, Seoul National University, Korea; Andoh Mensah, Manager of the Trade and Investment Climate Division, AfDB; Brian Mureverwi, Trade Advisor, African Union Commission; Alistair Nolan, Senior Policy Analyst, Innovation and Policy Evaluation, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, OECD; Zhaoyuan Xu, Deputy Director-General, Research Department of Industrial Economy, Development Research Center of the State Council, China (People’s Republic of); Sri Ramya Y, Associate Vice-President, Infrastructure Specialist, Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance & Export Promotion Bureau, India; and Zhongxiu Zhao, President, Shandong University, China (People’s Republic of).
The PTPR is the result of an extensive and open consultation with diverse stakeholders in Egypt:
One meeting of the Task Force on Economic Transformation kick-started the PTPR process. The meeting was held back-to-back with the 13th Plenary Meeting of the OECD Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains (GVCs), Production Transformation and Development in Cairo, Egypt. The Task Force Meeting was chaired by the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC). It took place with the participation of 35 members, including high level representatives from MTI and IMC, representatives of the business sector, such as the Federation of Egyptian Industries, the Engineering Export Council, the Food Export Council, and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, and bilateral development agencies, such as the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Two roundtables for production transformation in Egypt, where more than 20 high-level participants from the public and private sectors discussed strategies, policy tools, and partnerships needed for sustaining the Egyptian agro-food and electronics and electrical (E&E) industries. Strategic partners and leading companies have been key in sharing their views about the future and shaping the content of this report. We thank the Engineering Export Council (EECE), and in particular the two Chairpersons, Sherif El-Sayyad and Amr Abu Freikha, the two Executive Directors, May Helmy and Maha Salem, as well as Mohamed Samy; and the Food Export Council (FEC), and in particular the Chairperson, Hani Berzi, and the two Executive Directors, May Khairy and Manar Nasr. In addition, we are thankful to (in alphabetical order of company): Sherif Farouk, Managing Director, Ameco Technology; Mohamed Magdy, Director of Reasearch, Elaraby Group; Alaa Omar, Deputy CEO, LG Egypt; Ahmed El-Shafei, Deputy Chairman, Medical Engineering Group; Seham Atta, Government relations, Samsung Electronics Egypt; Mohamed Salem, CEO, SICO; and Shady Alagaar, CEO, Ultramed.
Semi-structured interviews with experts from business and government in Egypt have been extremely relevant in shaping the report. In addition to the people mentioned above, we acknowledge the time and contributions of (in alphabetical order): Omar Abdin, Independent Agro-food consultant; Mamdouh Affia, Head of SMEs Department, National Bank of Egypt (NBE); Amany Essawi, Head of International Cooperation, Suez Canal Economic Zone; Ahmed Helmy, Chairperson, Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industry; Mohamed Kamal, Cold Alex Company for Food processing; Mohammed Kassem, Board Member, Chamber of Ready Made Garments; Mohamed El Kersh, Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; Hussein Mansour, Chairman, National Food Safety Authority; Saad Moussa, Supervisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; Ahmed Reda, Associate Minister for Industry, Ministry of Trade and Industry; Ahmed Salman Arabian Food Industries Co. (DOMTY); Yomna El Sheridy, Founder and Managing Director of the Special Food Industry International; Tarek Tawfik, Vice President, Federation of Egyptian Industries; and Alaa El Wakil, Al-Mansour For Trade And Distribution Company.
The PTPR of Egypt would not have been possible without the financial contribution from the German International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ). We are thankful to the GIZ team that operated in Egypt throughout the entire period of the project: Jonas Naguib, Head of Programme, Private Sector Development; and Doaa Mohammed Salem, Senior Advisor, Innovation Policy, Egyptian | German Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (PSME).