Planning and Economic Development Minister Hala el Saeed said on Thursday 14/10/2021 that Decent Life presidential initiative is the biggest development project in terms of funding and number of beneficiaries as it costs 700 billion dollars and targets 58 million people.
During a meeting with Trade and Industry Minister Nevine Gamea to discuss the executive plan of the economic development axis of the initiative, Saeed said the project will help fulfill all the United Nations’ sustainable developments goals.
She said efforts are under way to generate decent job opportunities to residents of villages included in the initiative in a bid to improve their living standards.
She added that the meeting tackled setting up micro and small projects in cooperation with funding organizations, NGOs, the Egyptian Agricultural Bank and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA).
The trade minister, on her part, said the implementation of the economic development axis of the initiative falls under the supervision of MSMEDA and it involves a number of ministries, government bodies and development partners.
She added that this axis mainly aims at creating job opportunities through establishing micro and small projects, building supply chains feeding medium industries and optimizing distinctive features of every village.
She said efforts are under way to set up industrial and craft complexes in villages included in the initiative to contribute to increasing industrial sector’s share in Gross Domestic Product and meeting local market’s needs of industrial products.
Decent Life was first initiated in 2019 when President Abdel Fattah El Sisi charged the Ministry of Social Solidarity with developing Egypt’s poorest 1,000 villages.
In December 2020, President Sisi decided to expand the initiative to 4,500 villages within the framework of Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy: Vision 2030.