Rasha Abd El-Al, head of the Egyptian Tax Authority, met with Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Finance Minister, and heads of tax administrations from BRICS countries on the sidelines of India's 2026 BRICS presidency meetings. The meetings focused on enhancing cooperation, exchanging experiences, and exploring ways to develop tax administration and improve staff efficiency. This aligns with directives from Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kouk to strengthen international cooperation and leverage successful international practices.
The discussions covered various areas, including developing tax work systems, digital transformation, improving services for taxpayers, and enhancing human capacity. Abd El-Al emphasized the importance of cooperation among BRICS countries in training and capacity building, citing joint initiatives and programs to qualify tax cadres and exchange experiences. She highlighted the Egyptian Tax Authority's keenness to allow its staff to participate in these initiatives and transfer successful experiences to the Authority.
The meetings included heads and representatives of tax administrations from BRICS countries, such as Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the Indian Tax Authority head. On a related note, representatives of the Egyptian Tax Authority continued their participation in the second day of BRICS tax administration expert meetings, discussing several work paths, including a training and qualification initiative for tax cadres and developing human resource practices.
The Egyptian Tax Authority representatives participated in discussions on implementing a training and qualification initiative for tax cadres and exchanging practical experiences and successful practices among member countries. This includes a training program hosted by India, which the Egyptian Tax Authority will participate in with several of its cadres. This aims to leverage international experiences and expertise, develop technical and professional skills, and transfer acquired knowledge to support development efforts within the Authority.
The representatives also participated in discussions on human resource management practices and ways to develop them to support employee efficiency and institutional performance improvement. Furthermore, they participated in the work of the taxpayer-centered approach working group and the mutual learning forum, which aims to establish a platform for exchanging successful experiences and practices among BRICS tax administrations.
As part of its participation in the group's work, the Egyptian Tax Authority presented a video lecture reviewing its experience in this field, contributing to knowledge exchange and supporting mutual learning among BRICS country tax administrations. The discussions also covered the tax progress report and follow-up on developments in cooperation paths between BRICS tax administrations.
The Egyptian Tax Authority was represented in the expert meetings by Dr. Abdel Razek Shoukry, Assistant Head of the Authority and General Manager of the Head of the Authority's Office, and Dr. Afaf Ibrahim, Assistant Head of the Authority and General Manager of International Agreements. The meetings reflect Egypt's commitment to enhancing cooperation and exchanging experiences with BRICS countries to develop its tax administration.
Key points
- Egyptian Tax Authority head meets Indian Finance Minister and BRICS tax administrations to enhance cooperation.
- Meetings focus on exchanging experiences in tax administration, digital transformation, and human capacity building.
- Egyptian Tax Authority to participate in training program hosted by India for tax cadres.
