Technical support for sector policy reform

The principal element will be eight long-term expatriate advisors: four to assist in financial sector reforms, and two each to assist in fiscal and trade sector reforms. TA for privatization will be funded under the Partnership for Development Project (2630216) and its successor, the Privatization Project (2630238). Some possible areas of assistance are as follows. (1) Financial Sector -- (a) assist in removing barriers to the entry of private institutions into all areas of the financial sector; (b) develop further the T-bill market, and develop new government securities and primary and secondary markets for these securities. (2) Fiscal Sector -- develop increased capacity to plan, execute, monitor, and forecast government expenditures and transfers; (3) Trade Sector -- (a) assist in developing legislation, rules, and procedures governing imports and exports; (b) help remove regulations that impede private sector investment in export and import industries currently dominated by public sector companies. TA for tariff and customs related issues under the trade sector, as well as for tax legislation, rules, and procedures under the fiscal sector will be financed under the Public Administration Project (2630209). The project will also finance additional staff for the implementing agency, the Ministry of International Cooperation. Amendment (Project Paper Supplement) of 9/13/95 extends the project to 7/02 at increased funding and broadens its purpose to include TA to improve Egypt"s economic policy framework and promote private sector-led, export-oriented growth (in line with USAID/E"s Strategic Objective No. 1). Illustrative areas for TA include, inter alia, trade and regulatory policy reform, intellectual property rights, Central Bank training, Capital Market Authority training, economic studies, a lead reduction action plan, public enterprise debt study, liberalization of the textile sector, air quality regulations, and a grant to the World Bank to develop a macroeconomic model. (PD-ABL-874)