CAIRO: A new country cooperation strategy has been launched between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Egypt for the period 2022 to 2027.
The minister of international cooperation in Egypt, Rania Al-Mashat, announced the launch in the presence of the EBRD’s deputy director Mark Bowman and government ministers during a conference in Cairo.
Al-Mashat said the new strategy was based on three main axes that were in line with the country’s priorities and plans to achieve sustainable development.
The first axis was to support Egypt’s efforts to achieve comprehensive economic and sustainable growth. The second was to accelerate the country’s green transformation, and the third was to enhance competitiveness, increase growth rates, and stimulate the role of the private sector in development.
Egypt’s total agreements with the bank during 2021 amounted to more than €1 billion ($1.17 billion) for the public and private sectors.
They included funds for the implementation of an energy efficiency improvement program at the Suez Petroleum Manufacturing Company, supporting the first development phase of the first line of the metro, and a project developing the Abu Qir railway to convert it into an electric metro.
They also included the financing of the 6th of October Dry Port project, supporting startups to enhance Egypt’s entrepreneurial environment, and implementing solar power plants for the private sector.
Al-Mashat said the new EBRD partnership was based on the innovative foundations and rules established by the ministry to enhance development cooperation through transparency, inclusiveness and integration, with the aim of maximizing the benefits and results of development finance to serve the priorities of the Egyptian economy.
The EBRD has invested more than €8.7 billion in Egypt since 2012, supporting 145 projects. More than 76 percent of these projects were in the private sector.
Egypt topped the bank’s list as the largest country of operations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region during 2020 and 2021. It was also the bank’s largest country of operations in 2018 and 2019.
The new cooperation strategy took into account the presidential initiative “A Decent Life,” the National Human Rights Strategy, the National Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035, and the National Strategy To Empower Egyptian Women, as well as the government’s actions and plans to enhance competitiveness and digital transformation.
During the past year, the ministry implemented a roadmap for preparing the new EBRD strategy with the participation of more than 20 national bodies as well as the private sector and civil society.
