The session “Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development: From Concept to Practice”

Dr. Heba Shaheen, Executive Director of ERADDA Initiative:
The initiative works to clarify the existing legislation to stimulate the private sector, especially for companies in the fields of green industries and sustainability

Sharm el-Sheikh – 2 June 2022 .
The second day of meetings of the Islamic Development Bank in its 47th session, hosted by the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, witnessed the holding of the session “Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development: From Concept to Practice”, in the presence of Dr. Mohamed Maait, Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Heba Shahin, Executive Director of the Egyptian Initiative for Business Climate Reform (ERADDA), Siraj Moussa, Co-Founder and CEO of Delta Oil, Dr. Omar Helmy, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Shift EV, Omar Selim, Executive Vice President of SWVL, Reem El Saadi, Principal Regional Director of the Finance and Development Program for SMEs at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (Cairo Office).
Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance of Egypt, discussed the challenges facing the world in green finance and the importance of directing efforts towards setting realistic goals to reduce the effects of climate change.
Maait pointed to Egypt’s role in paving the way for other countries in applying important concepts to achieve Egypt’s commitments in reducing climate change, as well as Egypt’s efforts in launching green bonds and being the first country in the Middle East to launch such bonds,
develop a framework for green financing and take a comprehensive application to shift towards a green economy, adding that Egypt was able to obtain financing worth one and a half billion dollars for green projects.
Maait further explained that it is important to take into account the social aspect of green projects and the transition towards a green economy, and stressed Egypt’s commitment to allocate 50% of the state budget to green projects
and also focus on financing environmentally friendly projects.
For her part, Dr. Heba Shahin, Executive Director of ERRADA Initiative, pointed to the role of the initiative in clarifying the existing legislation to stimulate the private sector, especially for companies in the fields of green industries and sustainability, stressing the importance of the government’s communication with the private sector to know the requirements and needs of the private sector, as well as the importance of consulting all government agencies and looking at the best international practices.
Shaheen also talked about the decision to activate non-tax incentives and include some new green sectors among the sectors benefiting from these incentives, pointing to the sectors of manufacturing and storing green hydrogen, manufacturing and installing green vehicles and all their supplies, as well as safe alternatives to plastic industries and waste recycling
Shaheen also noted that ERRADA has cooperated with the Ministry of Justice to facilitate the business environment and to streamline procedures at the national level.
Dr. Amr Helmy reviewed the role of Shift EV
in the manufacture of lithium batteries for electric vehicles and the conversion of vehicles from fossil fuels to electric vehicles,
explaining that the company contributes to reducing carbon emissions as it is possible to save 11 million liters of fossil fuel and save $ 8 billion annually with the transition to electric vehicles in Egypt.