Cairo: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Hussein Eissa affirmed on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, that the state has adopted a clear approach to separating company ownership from management systems. He emphasized that the true measure of success is determined not by ownership but by management’s ability to achieve efficiency and effectiveness while delivering services that meet the needs of citizens and markets.
According to State Information Service Egypt, his remarks came during a meeting held on Monday with Arturo Herrera Guti©rrez, Global Director for Governance at the World Bank. The purpose was to discuss areas of joint cooperation and support for the government’s efforts to enhance the efficiency of public investment management, improve the performance of state-owned enterprises and economic authorities, and strengthen governance frameworks. These efforts aim to increase the efficiency of public spending, improve resource allocation, and support economic development priorities.
The meeting was also attended by Ahmed Rostom, Minister of Planning and Economic Development. Eissa explained that the government is moving forward with restructuring state-owned enterprises and economic authorities through the modernization of management and governance practices, in a way that preserves service efficiency while balancing economic efficiency with developmental considerations. The Deputy Prime Minister added that the state seeks to strengthen the government’s role as a regulator, supervisor, and facilitator, while creating greater space for the private sector in production and service delivery.
He further noted that the government is working on reorganizing a number of public entities according to the nature of their mandates and responsibilities, alongside restructuring several economic authorities to enhance operational efficiency and management effectiveness. Eissa stressed that the ongoing reform process also includes improving the efficiency of government services and developing cost accounting systems and asset valuation mechanisms. This aims to build an integrated framework that supports sound state asset management and informed decision-making, while also benefiting from international expertise and technical support in implementing reform and restructuring programs.
For his part, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development reaffirmed the government’s commitment to continued cooperation with the World Bank in providing technical support for efforts to improve public investment management efficiency. He noted that the meeting builds on previous discussions held during the Spring Meetings in Washington and expands on existing cooperation tracks across several economic and reform-related files. He added that the government, in cooperation with the World Bank, is continuing technical reviews related to the public investment management framework, while maintaining dialogue on reforms of state-owned enterprises.
He highlighted the importance of the technical support provided in this context, particularly regarding the State Ownership Policy Document and support for the State-Owned Enterprises Unit at the Cabinet. He also noted that the government remains committed to strengthening the efficiency of public investment management and developing state-owned enterprises in a way that improves performance, enhances resource utilization, and advances economic development goals.
Meanwhile, Guti©rrez underscored the importance of measuring state assets. He noted that governments naturally tend to focus on financial flows such as revenues, taxes, budgets, and public investment, while assets themselves often receive insufficient attention in analysis, which may affect the completeness of the overall public financial management picture.