El-Wazir made his statements during the second meeting of the new cabinet’s industrial development cluster.

Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Salah El-Din, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Local Development Manal Awad, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Sherif El-Sherbiny, Minister of Public Business Sector Mohamed Shimy, Minister of Investment and External Trade Hassan ElKhatib, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi, among others attended the meeting.

A few years ago, Egypt launched a specialized online platform “Egyptian Industry” under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Transport), providing access to introductory, production, and statistical information of all public companies affiliated with the ministry and mixed and private sector companies. 

It provides multiple services, including an industrial map, a list of made-in-Egypt products, data on partnerships and investment opportunities, a list of trademarks, a geological survey, and the one-window service. 

However, the new Egypt Digital Industrial Platform will focus on investors, simplifying the processes and procedures they go through.

El-Wazir reviewed the purpose of the cluster, reaffirming its role in establishing foundations, rules, legislative amendments, and a single mechanism for dealing with investors on an equal footing without exceptions. This contributes to upholding the principle of transparency before investors.

On her part, Al-Mashat confirmed that industrial development is atop the state’s plan to achieve economic development and increase net exports. She stated that 37 percent of the government’s investments in the current fiscal year (FY2024/2025) are directed towards industrial development, infrastructure, and facilitating industrial zones.

El-Wazir also pointed out that his ministry adopted a 7-pillar strategy to enhance the industrial sectors and increase the industry’s contribution to Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 16 percent to 20 percent by 2027.

This strategy includes reducing reliance on imports and meeting local market needs and production requirements by encouraging domestic manufacturers, attracting foreign investors, and expanding the industrial base to increase exports, particularly in green and electronic industries.

This can also be achieved by improving the technical specifications of Egyptian industries, providing swift approvals for factory restarts, listening to owners of idle facilities to find solutions, granting technical support to enhance capabilities and obtain international conformity certificates, employing workers to reduce unemployment rates, and qualifying the workforce through the ministry's training entities, research centres, and universities.  

Furthermore, the meeting reviewed the implementation of decisions taken within the cluster’s first meeting. They also discussed which issues they will tackle in the future.

This comes against the backdrop of the new cabinet’s plan to increase the contribution of the industrial, agricultural, and information technology sectors to Egypt’s GDP by 38 percent by FY2026/2027, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.