World Bank to apply Egypt's Takaful & Karama social protection model in other countries
Minister Al-Mashat made her statements during the Sunday celebration, which marked 10 years of the programme's application in Egypt, in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
During the celebration, Al-Mashat clarified that the programme provides financial support and supports the state in assisting Egyptian citizens, addressing challenges, and enhancing human development efforts.
She explained that Takaful and Karama-related programmes have supported the state in strengthening social protection for the most vulnerable families. The government is committed to adopting several initiatives to protect citizens in light of the ongoing economic reform process.
"Since its implementation began in 2015, Egypt could, through economic diplomacy efforts, mobilize development financing from the World Bank amounting to approximately $1.4 billion, equivalent to EGP 70 billion, to support sustainability in social protection efforts through the Takaful and Karama programme. In addition, technical support was provided by experts from the bank,” the minister said.
Egypt increased cash support allocations for Takaful and Karama beneficiaries to EGP 41 billion annually in the current FY2024/2025, which ends at the end of June 2025, providing over EGP 3 billion to 4.7 million families monthly, Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsy stated in February.
Morsy added that the UK provided a grant to enhance the Ministry of Social Solidarity's institutional and human capacities, strengthening the effectiveness of social protection programmes.
Moreover, the Waai (Awareness) programme was launched in partnership with the International Labour Organization and other UN agencies to combat child labour and ensure children grow up in a safe and healthy environment.
Egyptian-Swiss Committee
Furthermore, the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation chaired the first meeting of the Egyptian-Swiss Joint Economic Committee, which was held at the technical level in the Swiss city of Bern.
The ministries of foreign affairs, finance, investment and external trade, and labour, the Central Bank of Egypt, representatives from the business community and private sector companies, and their Swiss counterparts participated in the meeting.
Al-Mashat stated that the Egyptian-Swiss Committee is a crucial platform to promote economic, commercial, and investment relations between the two countries.
She added that investments in the agriculture and food security sectors have grown by 20 percent during FY2024/2025.
The committee's first meeting was held after Minister Al-Mashat and Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs Helen Budliger had signed the joint economic committee agreement between Egypt and the Swiss Confederation during the World Economic Forum in Davos last January.
Al-Mashat affirmed that convening the Egyptian-Swiss Joint Economic Committee reflects both countries' commitment to strengthening economic, commercial, and investment relations.
In addition, it shows their eagerness to expand relations to broader horizons, explore new opportunities to access markets, address challenges to boost bilateral economic ties, and evaluate and update current economic agreements.