Egypt's Business Sector Minister Hesham Tawfik stressed on Monday that the presence of a modern non-bank financial sector is key the sustainable development of the national economy.

Tawfik's comments came as he inaugurated on Monday the first Annual Insurance and Reinsurance Forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh under the auspices of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

The forum, organised by the Egyptian Insurance Federation, is being held from 29 to 31 October with more than 25 countries participating.

On Monday, Tawfik gave on behalf of the prime minister the opening speech of this year’s edition of the forum, titled ‘Spreading Precious Ideas.’

The minister highlighted the efforts exerted in recent years to develop the non-bank financial services sector in order to adapt to the pace of the global business community and its needs for innovative financial solutions.

Tawfik said that the insurance sector contributes just 1 percent to the GDP, a modest figure compared to the economies of other countries, where it is no less than 3 to 4 percent of the GDP.

The minister affirmed that the insurance sector in Egypt is currently developing through incentives including new legislation and structural reforms adopted by the state.

The forum calls for improving governance and strengthening the institutional framework of the sector to increase its contribution to the GDP to exceed more than 1 percent in the next four years.