** #5 Trade Ministry unveils outline of local industry development strategy: Trade and Industry Minister Amr Nassar unveiled yesterday a strategy aimed at developing domestic industry and improving the competitiveness of locally manufactured goods, according to a ministry statement (pdf). The program, which hinges on promoting development across the supply chain, will focus on providing assistance to small-scale manufacturers and facilitating their access to funding and skilled labor. Under the strategy, the ministry will also help local connect with each other and with markets abroad.

“Buy Egyptian” figures into it: The recently passed Public Procurement Act — which gives products with at least 40% domestic content priority in government tenders over competing products with less domestic input — is another important tenet of the ministry’s strategy to put domestic production on the map, said Federation of Egyptian Industries head Mohamed El Sewedy.

Details TK: The statement does not flesh out the details of any incentives or other measures the government will take to nudge along domestic manufacturers.

Nassar discusses supporting private sector manufacturers with IFC: The unveiling of the strategy comes one day after Nassar discussed implementing programs to support private-sector industry with a delegation from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), according to a ministry statement. The two sides also looked into their ongoing work to improve the efficiency of electric motors used in industry. We previously noted that the IFC is committed to extend as much as USD 2 bn in funding to Egypt’s private sector until 2019 under the country’s cooperation framework with the World Bank Group, IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou said.