Statement by President El-Sisi in Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the OECD

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi delivered a televised speech to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in commemoration of its 60th Anniversary. In his speech, President El-Sisi expressed Egypt's deep appreciation for the prominent role the OECD plays at the bilateral level with Egypt and for its contributions to formulating economic and development policies at the international level in order to implement Better Policies for Better Life.

Following is the text of the speech:

"Mr. Angel Gurría,

Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,

Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Egyptian People, it is my pleasure to congratulate you and all the Members States of your reputable Organization on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the OECD. Throughout these years, the Organization has significantly contributed to the development of standards and the formulation of economic and development policies capable of achieving the slogan agreed upon by its member states... "Better Policies for Better Life".

The year 2020 was full of challenges and negative repercussions posed by the Covid- 19 Pandemic crisis, to the extent that the post-COVID-19 world will be different than the one before. Despite that, the crisis has availed important opportunities, notably to accelerate digitalization, and to improve our policies to become socially, economically and environmentally more sustainable, which would contribute to achieving the comprehensive recovery as soon as possible.

This crisis highlights the role of the OECD, with its 60 years of experience in multilateral cooperation, in formulating policies that promote transparency and governance, accommodating the evolving trends and the needs of the global economy. It also highlights the OECD’s positive contribution to the formulation of the required global path to tackle this unprecedented crisis, and the sought after solidarity in the efforts to alleviate the burden shouldered by all countries regardless of their degree of development, in addition to guiding such joint efforts to a win-win situation.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Despite the severity of the Covid-19 crisis and its significant economic repercussions, the Egyptian economy has demonstrated resilience that helped sustain its positive growth rates. This was possible in the light of the Structural Economic Reform Program that Egypt adopted over the last years, achieving significant successes in a short period of time, with a positive impact on development efforts and enhancing the government’s ability to effectively intervene by introducing policy measures and stimulus packages for key economic sectors, as well as providing increasing support for the most vulnerable segments of the society.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Egypt has maintained close cooperation ties with the OECD, through participation in various committees, and is a member of the OECD’s Development Centre in 2008 as the first Arab and African country to acquire its full membership. This comes in the context of the importance Egypt attaches to the Centre as a forum expressing the priorities and concerns of the developing countries and its role in preparing development studies, as well as availing the relevant technical assistance.

In 2019, this cooperation has witnessed a new impetus with Egypt joining the “Country Programme Mechanism”. I would like to commend the progress in that regard, through which a number of priority areas have been selected, which are the most capable of contributing to the achievement of the National Program of Social and Economic Reform, in line with the agreement on the priorities matching our needs and objectives, notably those in the areas of adopting standards, improving investment climate, deepening transparency, combating corruption, as well as empowering women and youth.

In conclusion, I would like to express Egypt's deep appreciation for the significant role played by the OECD, and affirm our keenness to strengthen cooperation for our mutual benefit. I also would like to reiterate my congratulations to the Secretary-General and all member states on this occasion. I wish you every success."