Thursday 25/Sep/2025 – 01:25 PM
Since the announcement of the National Sardness for Economic Development, the followers have not been very busy with the details it carries as much as they went to the same name, with questions: Why is a narrative? .. Is it correct that this expression is the title of an economic document?
Some also considered the term strange or intruder, as if it belongs to the world of literature more than the economy, while others saw it as loose and more mysterious, but the truth is that the meaning of the word is much simpler than that, the narrative is the framework that collects separate strings to formulate a coherent story, and in our case, it is an attempt to collect the vision of Egypt 2030, the national program for structural reforms, and the plans of the sectoral ministries, in one text, in one text that is re -presented Economic priorities in an internal and external press.
Regardless of the term, the most feasible discussion should not stop around it but rather about the content, as the narrative, no matter how marketing it appears on its face, it actually carries important details that deserve meditation, especially since it is for the first time that it moves from the generalities of the discourse to the language of numbers that reflects clear amounts, and makes them at the same time measured with the possibility of pursuing performance and accountability.
Among these goals, raising exports to 145 billion dollars, equivalent to a quarter of domestic product, increasing the contribution of the industry to 20% of the output so that it becomes the main source of exports, as well as targeting 30 million tourists annually, and reaching the rate of renewable energy to 42% of the energy mix by 2030.
What distinguishes this document also is that it does not talk about comprehensive development as a loose concept, but rather determines the sectors that are considered locomotives, which are the manufacturing industry, agriculture, tourism, services, energy, and the issue of determining this is very important because it directs policies and gives clear signals to the private sector and investors about priorities, which is what public discourse usually lacks when it is drowned in talking about unlimited opportunities.
However, the challenge in the ability of these sectors actually leads to lead growth, which will depend on the detailed policies that the responsible ministries will adopt, and to follow the process of achieving targets and indicators of performance measurement.
On the social level, the narrative included targeting to reduce unemployment rates, and increase the participation of women and youth in the workforce. Rather, it was placed in its fourth season a link between education and the labor market as a joint step for the economic product of the human rehabilitation. They are positive steps, of course, because it reflects the awareness that economic development cannot be separated from social justice.
At the spatial level, its fifth chapter was distinguished, as there is a new approach to distributing investments on the basis of economic and population census, allowing the treatment of development gaps between the governorates, and although these references may not be sufficient on their own, but they express awareness of the necessity of achieving a balance between different governorates, which is often absent from previous policies that almost completely biased to major urban centers.
However, despite all these positive points, there are basic questions if I want the narrative to turn into a practical framework, the most important of which is how the citizen believes in it as a lever to improve living on the ground, not at the level of total economy numbers only, and how legislative reform is integrated with the narrative to walk on a flat land. The survival of these questions is suspended, opens the door to skepticism and is held from coordination.
The announcement of a transparent follow -up mechanism will remain a necessary condition for the seriousness of implementation, as the targets, no matter how ambitious, will remain closer to paper aspirations if they are not related to periods of time and periodic reports on progress rates, strict control of investigation, and finally, linking public budgets to economic and social targets remains the cornerstone, so that the numbers turn from mere goals to actual determinants of public spending.
However, it is important that the reader does not view any questions as gaps that nullify narrative, but rather as natural supplements for any strategic framework in the form of formation, as the narrative is not presented as a final closed product, but rather as an open process that is subject to continuous discussion sessions, development and modification, in a way that works to refine it and improve its institutional interconnections, and it is of course a flexibility calculated for it, because it makes it a beginning Developable, no rigid document governed by final terms.
In conclusion, it can be said that the national narrative represents a qualitative shift compared to the precedent, as it combines for the first time between the goals of a specific amount, leading sectors, and social and spatial dimensions, in one document .. The commitment of various institutions to interdependence guarantees the orientation in one path to achieve targets.
The hope here is not that the narrative will change the reality overnight, but rather that it opens the door to reorganize national economic thinking, which makes planning a more consistent process, and from accountability a more present tool and indicators is a means of evaluation and follow -up, because if the discussion and coordination episodes are completed, the desired interconnections are polished, the narrative can already turn into a practical road map, not just an elegant cover that is added to the shelves of documents.
And between excessive intimidation and hurtful criticism, the truth remains in the middle that we have a serious attempt that deserves to be supported, and an effort with young national minds deserves a positive engagement with him, and as our late writer Naguib Mahfouz said, the conscious mind is able to respect the idea even if he does not believe in it.
