New private sector advisory committees: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has announced the formation of six advisory committees that the statement says will ensure continued and deepened communication between policymakers and the private sector as the state pushes its reform drive into the new year.

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The government knows its priorities: Madbouly has identified six focus areas in which the government aims to ensure private sector involvement in the policy-making process — macroeconomics, export development, digital economy and entrepreneurship, tourism development, political affairs, and urban development and real estate exports.

The committees include some prominent names: Each committee hosts a number of senior executives, experts, and private sector investors, including EFG Holding's Karim Awad, Actis’ Sherif ElKholy, HSBC's Helmy Ghazi, Palm Hills' Yasseen Mansour, El Sewedy Electric's Ahmed Elsewedy, Ora's Naguib Sawiris, Eva Pharma's Riad Armanious, Edita's Hani Berzi, Travco's Hamed El Chiaty, and economist Medhat Nafei.

What we know: Each advisory committee will be chaired by Madbouly and will meet at least once a month or as needed, according to the statement. No date for the committees’ initial sessions was specified.

The full list:

  • Macroeconomics Committee: Hussein Eissa, Khaled Sakr, Omnia Helmy, Hassan Heikal, Sherif El Kholy, Karim Awad, Mohamed Fouad, and Medhat Nafei.
  • Export development Committee: Omar Mehana, Tarek Tawfik, Ahmed Ezz, Hani Berzi, Abdel Hamid El Demerdash, Ayman Ashry Morgan, Riad Armanious, Alaa Arafa, Hani Cassis, Ahmed Elsewedy, and Fadel Marzouk.
  • Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Committee: Mohamed Azab, Karim Beshara, Amal Anan, Wael Abouelmaaty, Maged Mahmoud, Tamer Ismail, Louay Youssef, Dalia Ibrahim, Helmy Ghazi, Omar Elsahy, Tamer El Raghy, Mohamed Okasha, and Hossam Seif Eldin.
  • Tourism Development Committee: Hisham Talaat Moustafa, Kamel Abou Aly, Hamed El Chiaty, Hassan Darwish, Hossam El Shaer, Ahmed El Wassief, Mohamed Nader Hesham, and Bassel Sami Saad.
  • Political Affairs Committee: Aly Eldin Helal, Abdel Monem Said, Mohamed Kamal, and Gamal Abdel Gawad.
  • Urban Development and Real Estate Export Committee: Mahmoud El Gammal, Naguib Sawiris, Yasseen Mansour, Khaled Abbas, Amr Soliman, Tarek Shoukry, Ahmed Shalaby, Amgad Hassanein, and Ashraf Arafa.

Hearing out the private sector has been high on the government’s priorities as of late, with Madbouly meeting with a number of prominent players in the local private sector late December to discuss the challenges facing the private sector and the measures private sector players want from the state in the years to come.

SPEAKING OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR- Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib reinforced the need for a private sector-led economy in an interview with CNBC (watch, runtime: 6:42) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. El Khatib said the government’s role should be to ensure a “clear, predictable, and dependable” business environment to attract investments. El Khatib added that the government could get the private sector to contribute 75% of total investments even before 2030.

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