Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat stated that global protectionist policies are creating real opportunities for African countries to attract industrial investments by encouraging the reshoring of economic activities to the continent. She spoke at the launch of the Brookings Institution's "Foresight Africa" report during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Al-Mashat emphasized leveraging Africa's demographic dividend, youth population, and technological potential to advance industrialization.
In her speech on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, Rania al-Mashat explained that these protectionist policies enhance Africa's ability to attract industrial investments, pointing to the relocation of economic activities to exploit the continent's large market size and available skills. She said: "Protectionist policies are creating real opportunities for African countries and enhancing their ability to attract industrial investment."
She noted that intra-African trade remains low, currently ranging between 14% and 17%, which does not reflect the scale of opportunities compared to regions like the European Union. Al-Mashat called for elevating intra-African trade to the forefront of international discussions as a "core and pivotal pillar" for achieving development and job creation.
Al-Mashat highlighted the Suez Canal Economic Zone as the central element of Egypt's strategy to support the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and regional value chains. The zone integrates industrial production with logistics services to facilitate the import of inputs, value addition, and re-export to African markets. She described it as a platform that turns "integration" into a commercial reality by reducing time to market and supporting large-scale production, positioning Egypt as a competitive hub for aggregation, processing, and transshipment.
On finance, she praised regional institutions including the African Development Bank and the African Export-Import Bank for providing the necessary financing and guarantees to promote trade. She mentioned Egypt's accession to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System and its work on AfCFTA rules of origin for the textiles and automotive sectors as key steps in strengthening continental economic ties.
In a separate session titled "The Future of Growth," al-Mashat said the Egyptian economy is transitioning from a model heavily reliant on government infrastructure investment toward one based on productivity, economic complexity, and value creation. She added: "Resilience is no longer a defensive concept, but rather a fundamental requirement for attracting investment and enhancing productivity and competitiveness." She emphasized that Egypt's growth trajectory is now measured by the quality, sustainability, and structure of growth rather than solely by gross domestic product expansion rates.
The sessions included participation from Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA; Gita Gopinath, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; and Ricardo Hausmann, Director of Harvard University’s Growth Lab.