The World Bank Group s1

The World Bank Group Egypt Country Partnership Framework 2015-2019

CPF Overview

Introduction: The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) defines the development priorities on which the World Bank Group (WBG)1 will focus its cooperation with the Government of Egypt, as well as, the level and type of support that it mobilizes for the benefit of the country over a given period. Designing the CPF will benefit from a participatory process that involves the government, private sector, civil society, NGOs, youth, academia and other partners, such as the donor community, to help define the priorities on which the cooperation between the WBG and Egypt must concentrate during the implementation of the CPF. Once this strategic document has been discussed with all stakeholders, the CPF is officially presented to the World Bank Group Board of Directors.

Egypt Interim Strategy Note (ISN) June 2012 to December 2013: The World Bank Group has aligned its strategy with the changing realities and priorities in Egypt. The Egypt Interim Strategy Note in June 2012 focused on three pillars that currently guide World Bank operations in Egypt.

 Improving economic management through control of the fiscal deficit and initiating reforms to enhance transparency in government operations;  Creating opportunities for short-term, productive job-creation, particularly for women and young people, and initiating steps to improve the environment for longer-term private sector job creation;  Fostering approaches to broaden access to and greater participation in the delivery of economic and social services for disadvantaged groups, again with special attention paid to women and young people, and to lagging regions of the country.

Current Portfolio: The World Bank portfolio in Egypt includes 25 projects for a total commitment of $4.92 billion as well as 41 trust funds grants for a total commitment of $201.3 million. The World Bank finances projects for faster delivery of benefits to the people of Egypt in key sectors including energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and irrigation as well as health and education. IFC has a total portfolio of around $1 billion in 34 projects covering financial markets, chemicals, oil and gas, agribusiness, manufacturing and health care sectors.

A “Solutions Bank”: In line with the ongoing reform of the World Bank Group, the World Bank is focusing on delivering customized solutions to the client by combining lending programs with evidence- based expertise from across the world and across sectors. The World Bank is finalizing comprehensive studies on jobs and on general education, both informed by global knowledge and experience. To prepare or complement projects, it is also providing technical assistance to a number of public entities in the areas of subsidy reform and social safety nets, medium and small enterprise development and urban transport. IFC's strategy in Egypt aims to increase foreign investment and build investor confidence, supporting the country during its transition by encouraging the growth of the private sector. IFC also provides advisory services to strengthen business regulations, increase access to finance, support the development of small and medium enterprises, and assist the creation of public-private partnerships to build the country’s infrastructure.

Preparation of the CPF 2015-2019: The preparation of the new CPF mainly aims at supporting the country’s development priorities in the new economic and political context, consistent with the regional strategy of the World Bank Group in the MENA region and its overarching goal of ending extreme

1 The World Bank Group consists of five organizations: IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID. poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The World Bank will continue to provide financial and technical support while diversifying and rebalancing its portfolio in view of the next mandate.

The Consultation Process

In order to prepare the new CPF, the World Bank Group will launch several rounds of consultations with the Government of Egypt and a diversified group of stakeholders.  The consultations will be regionally spread across Egypt with events taking place in Cairo and other regions, including but not limited to Upper Egypt. The regional consultations demonstrate the significance of lagging regions as a development priority for Egypt and also underline the World Bank’s focus on inclusion and listening to input and feedback from stakeholders in other regions.  Besides the physical events, the consultations will also be held on-line through a dedicated webpage in both Arabic and English.

The consultations are designed to help build a good understanding of challenges and conditions in Egypt and promote greater ownership of the CPF program. It will equally help to align the World Bank’s program with the country’s development priorities and with the programs of other donors. The consultations will include various stakeholder groups of the Egyptian society including, but not limited to:  Government of Egypt  Civil Society Organizations (NGOs, Youth groups and Women, Academia and Think Tanks, etc.)  Private Sector (Companies, Business Associations, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)  Development Partners

The WBG seeks to follow international good practice in the design and execution of its stakeholder consultation process.

Agenda and Timeline: The consultation process is divided into several phases. The process will be adaptable to the political process and timing of elections in Egypt. The consultation timeline will be announced.

Consultations Webpage: The webpage will include background materials to help stakeholders effectively and constructively engage in the consultation process. The webpage will also be the channel through which other stakeholders can stay informed about the CPF process and see how their input – either on-line or at consultation meetings – has been incorporated into the CPF and if not, an explanation of why it has not. For this purpose, outcomes of the consultations will be posted online for comments.

Online Survey: There will also be a questionnaire available on the webpage that stakeholders can use to provide their input and views directly through an on-line survey. It is open to all interested participants throughout the consultation process.

Stakeholder Feedback: A summary note, without personal attributions, from each consultation meeting will be sent via email to the participants for a one-week validation period. Revisions will be incorporated to the extent possible and summaries will be prepared. The finalized summary, along with the list of participants, will be posted on the consultations webpage. All summaries will be available in English and Arabic. An additional feedback mechanism will feature on the consultations webpage, where outcomes of the consultations will be available for comments. Language: Consultations with stakeholders will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation services provided for Arabic speakers. The consultations webpage and all documents on the webpage will be available in both English and Arabic.