Egypt strengthens its role in developing the African tax system.
Extensive cooperation with the Tax Administration Forum and the University of Pretoria
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Within the framework of strengthening Egyptian-African cooperation in policy areas The tax administration, Ambassador Ahmed Sherif, Egypt’s ambassador to South Africa, received Ramy Youssef, Assistant Minister of Finance for Tax Policies and Development and Supervisor of the Real Estate Tax Authority, during his visit to the capital, Pretoria.
This came as part of an event organized by the African Forum of Tax Administrations (ATAF), in cooperation with the African Institute of Taxation at the University of Pretoria.
During the visit, Ramy Youssef delivered a lecture at the University of Pretoria, in which he reviewed the most prominent developments in the international tax system, in his capacity as Chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee on Drafting the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, where he addressed the most prominent challenges and opportunities related to developing the tax cooperation system at the global level.
The event was attended by a number of senior officials and tax experts, including Mary Payne, Executive Director of the African Forum of Tax Administrations, Romeo Ella, the Forum’s Multilateral Government Relations Officer, Reem Abu Zeid, the Forum’s tax expert, as well as a select group of tax policy and administration specialists from various African countries.
The visit comes within the framework of the increasing momentum in relations between the Egyptian Ministry of Finance and the African Forum of Tax Administrations, reflecting Egypt’s keenness to support efforts to develop tax systems and enhance technical cooperation and exchange of experiences between African countries.
Agreement between the Egyptian Ministry of Finance and the African Forum
The cooperation culminated in May 2026 with the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, the African Forum of Tax Administrations, and the African Institute of Taxation at the University of Pretoria, to host the headquarters of the African Tax Academy in Egypt.
This comes with the aim of training and qualifying tax personnel, building institutional capacities, and bridging skills gaps within tax administrations in the continent, thereby contributing to enhancing the efficiency of tax administration and supporting economic development efforts in Africa.
In a move reflecting the strength of diplomatic relations between the countries of Southern Africa and the Arab Republic of Egypt, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to Egypt, Jomo Nyambe, participated in the meeting of ambassadors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, which was held in New Cairo on July 15, 2026.
The meeting was convened at the invitation of the Dean of the SADC Ambassadors Group in Egypt, Ambassador Major General (Retired) Topley Mulambo Lubaya, Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to Cairo, who explained that the meeting was dedicated to officially welcoming the new South African Ambassador, wishing him success and good fortune in his new diplomatic mission in Egypt.
