Arab Finance: Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh met with Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in Washington to discuss expanding cooperation and aligning Egypt’s investment framework with international standards, as per a statement.

The meeting comes as part of broader efforts to strengthen partnerships with global institutions and enhance the competitiveness of Egypt’s investment environment through policy and regulatory reform.

During the discussions, Farid highlighted the resilience of the Egyptian economy, supported by reform measures including exchange rate flexibility and restructuring the energy system. He noted that these steps have contributed to improving financial sustainability and increasing Egypt’s attractiveness to investors.

He also outlined the ministry’s plan to digitize government services, particularly post-establishment services such as capital increases and general assemblies, aiming to reduce processing times from months to days in line with international practices.

Farid pointed to ongoing work to introduce simplified accounting standards for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to integrate them into the formal economy and reduce regulatory burdens within a digital framework.

He added that efforts are underway to modernize foreign direct investment (FDI) data systems through electronic integration with relevant entities to ensure accuracy and better reflect actual investment flows.

The two sides discussed enhancing technical cooperation to align economic policies with modern global standards, while maintaining a balance between safeguarding state interests and preserving the competitiveness of investment incentives.