In a presser to introduce the agenda of the conference, PM Madbouly said that the three-day event will welcome discussions and proposals by experts, intellectuals, various government ministries and authorities, and political parties on drawing such a roadmap.

It will also entertain all proposals to formulate clear measures and policies that can contribute to increasing the competitiveness and flexibility of the Egyptian economy.

The conference will also discuss means of enhancing partnership between the public and private sectors on the ground, Madbouly noted.

It also aims to devise a package of incentives for the industrial sector and exporters as per presidential directives, he added.

 “Amid the huge crisis that the world is facing, we should set a roadmap for ourselves to forge ahead with economic development in the country - at a higher pace and with greater participation from the private sector - during the coming period,” Madbouly said.

The government has recently promised to remove all bureaucratic obstacles that stand in the way of increasing investments.

Last month, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said that "the government will remove obstacles to investment within a month or two," affirming that the planned economic conference will assess all the obstacles encountered by investors in order to remove them.

Empowering the private sector

The conference will discuss ways of securing soft loans from international organisations to strengthen and empower the private sector, Madbouly said.

On the second day of the event, the government will announce the final draft of State Ownership Policy Document in order to adopt it formally, he said.

The draft document, unveiled by the government in June, delineates the state's presence in various sectors of the economy over the coming few years as part of plans to expand the role of the private sector in economic development.

According to the draft document, the government plans to increase the private sector's participation in public investments to 65 percent, up from 30 percent currently.

 “The final document will serve as a "constitution" for economic activity during the coming period,” Madbouly said.

The economic conference will  discuss ways to develop the non-banking financial sector, he added.

It will also tackle ways to maximise partnership between the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and the private sector in implementing national projects, he said.

Urgent economic matters

The first day of the conference will discuss urgent policies needed to strengthen the capabilities of the Egyptian economy in the face of the global crises, the prime minister explained.

It will also discuss policies needed to tackle inflation, he added.

Participants will discuss various practical solutions to ensure financial sustainability in light of the impact of the global crises on finances, he added.

The last day of the conference will issue a roadmap for the various sectors of the economy, including energy, renewable energy, tourism and aviation, petrochemical industries, communications and information technology, real estate development, green projects, transport, agriculture and land reclamation, and cattle and poultry production, he explained.

Broad participation

Madbouly estimated that 400 to 500 individuals - hailing from 21 local and international bodies - will participate in the three-day event.

On Thursday, the government will launch a website and a mobile app to engage youth and experts who are not able to attend the conference in person on the issues.

The conference will be attended by representatives of various ministries and  government authorities and bodies, including financial experts, heads of investment chambers and federations, deans of various faculties of economics, a number of foreign ambassadors, representatives of the Coalition of Egyptian Parties, and representatives of international companies, he added.

National Dialogue

The economic conference will serve the targets of the under-preparation National Dialogue, which was called by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi last April, Madbouly stressed.

The National Dialogue aims to reach a common approach among political, partisan, and syndicate forces on national priorities, including economic issues.

The participants in the preparatory meetings for the dialogue, which started back in May, have agreed on conducting discussions along three main tracks - political, economic, and social - with each track divided into various subcommittees.

The rapporteurs of the three tracks will participate in the economic conference later this month, Madbouly said.