Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed the latest developments concerning the Decent Life presidential initiative with a group of Egyptian businessmen on Thursday, as its first conference is going to be held later at the Cairo International Stadium, the presidency announced.

According to the presidency, El-Sisi said that the Decent Life initiative is the biggest development project in the history of modern Egypt, which falls under the umbrella of the Vision 2030 agenda. The initiative aims to upgrade all aspects of life in the Egyptian countryside, adding that the state was determined to finish all the phases of the project in the shortest possible time in cooperation with the private sector, civil society, and development partners.

The Egyptian president thanked the businessmen for their contribution to the Decent Life project in order to achieve economic and social developments in the country, adding the initiative was a huge leap for Egypt and will reflect positively on the industry and business sector.

According to the presidency, the meeting included a discussion about the initiative and its goals to upgrade and modernize 4,584 villages across the governorates on all levels, including the social, health, education and economic level, and how those goals meet the sustained development goals of the United Nations.

Those villages represent 58% of the Egyptian population, the presidency said, adding that its initial cost is nearly EGP 700 billion (about $44.6 billion).

The first stage, involving the development and upgrading of 1,500 villages and their infrastructure, was discussed in the meeting.

The presidency stated that the initiative aims to end multi-dimensional poverty in the Egyptian countryside in cooperation and coordination of different specialized institutions in Egypt.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Head of Egyptian General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel also attended the meeting.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with the the ministers and Egyptian businessmen who participate in the "Decent Life" initiative (Photo: Egyptian Presidency)