Egypt signed the “Yaoundé Declaration” during the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Paris, the Ministry of Finance said in a Saturday statement.
The declaration’s principles include enhancing financial transparency and combating evasion, double taxation, and illicit financial flows in African member states, the statement said.
This move puts Egypt alongside a list of other African countries to sign the declaration, including Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, Congo, South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the declaration serves as an international cooperation document that encourages the signed African states to increase information sharing and promote transparency in tax dealings, as well as countering illicit cash flows.
Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk signed the “Yaoundé Declaration” on behalf of the Minister.
Finance Minister Mohamed Maait on his end said that Egypt seeks to maximize its role in Africa by laying the foundations of continental cooperation in various fields, building African capacities in a way that meets the developmental desires of the continent’s peoples.
Maait added that his country supports all initiatives and projects that create platforms for the exchange of international and continental experiences, and therefore was eager to join the declaration.
He added that Egypt hopes the declaration will be an effective platform to enrich constructive dialogue on enhancing financial transparency, which contributes to the exchange of African experiences, and the localization of outstanding global experiences.
The Minister stressed that the principles of the “Yaoundé Declaration” are in line with Egypt’s structural and legislative reforms to modernize the tax system, and the localization of international expertise – in accordance with an ambitious program that enjoys great support and careful control from political leadership aimed at standardizing, simplifying and automating the procedures.
Kouchouk said that Egypt joining the “Yaounde Declaration” supports the Finance Ministry’s role in building human capacity, keeping up with the best global practices through the exchange of the technical consultancy tax, and through its experience with international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
He added that the declaration also ensures the best use of opportunities for African and international cooperation in maximizing the domestic revenues of member states, in order to achieve sustainable development in accordance with the “Africa 2063” agenda.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
