The Policy Working Group of the programme Mainstreaming Employment into Trade and Investment (METI) implemented by the International Labour Organisation held its second meeting in Egypt on 8 May 2023. It brought together 20 policy makers from relevant government ministries, representatives from the social partners, specialized national agencies, and civil society organisations. The members of the working group continued the discussion on potential priority sectors for METI’s forthcoming value chain analysis. The analysis focused on the six selection criteria, including national priorities, export and employment potential, possibilities for upgrading in the value chain and diversification of the export basket, as well as environmental considerations. After a fruitful discussion and informed by further analysis by the ILO team present on the ground, the working group reached consensus to focus on “sugars, sugar confectionary and chocolate” for METI’s forthcoming value chain analysis.