• The committee is following up on the implementation of the projects of the third phase of the program worth $100 million and directs the start of technical negotiations regarding the fourth phase of the program.
• Minister of International Cooperation: Program Management Committee meetings enhance utilization of resources and follow up on implementation processes to overcome various challenges
• The Italian Ambassador: We are keen to target areas of green transformation and support the “NWFE” program projects through the new phase of debt swap.
• Discussions for the Italian side to participate in the “Hub for Advisory, Finance & Investment for Enterprises” platform for financial and technical support for the private sector to increase efforts directed at the private sector in Egypt.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Mr. Michele Quaroni, the Italian Ambassador to Cairo, chaired, at the headquarters of the Ministry of International Cooperation in the New Administrative Capital, the management committee for the Egyptian-Italian debt swap program for development, to discuss developments in the implementation of the projects of the third phase of the program worth $100 million. Through this, many development projects are financed in the areas of food security and agriculture, higher education sectors, civil society support, environmental projects and preservation of cultural heritage, projects to empower female breadwinners, establish 10 wheat storage silos, and projects to empower and protect children. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Italian Development Agency and the Committee's Technical Support Unit.
During the meeting, the Minister of International Cooperation applauded the importance of the mechanism of the debt swap program that is being implemented with the Italian side and which many development partners are seeking to emulate, which aims to reduce the burden of external debt on the Egyptian government, stressing the importance of the committee’s periodic meetings to ensure optimal implementation of the agreements and achieve maximum benefit, selecting projects according to national priorities, and a technical support unit to follow up on project implementation, in addition to annual meetings to approve debt swap decisions.
The meeting witnessed a discussion of the position of the various projects within the framework of the aforementioned third tranche, and how to overcome obstacles with the aim of making full use of their funds, especially at the level of the Applied Technology Schools project, enhancing teachers’ skills, and solid waste management in Minya Governorate.
In this context, Al-Mashat stressed the Ministry of International Cooperation’s keenness to fully coordinate between the ministries and relevant entities, with the aim of developing a vision on how to benefit from the available funds, for the benefit of already existing projects so that their implementation can be completed by the end of this year.
It was also emphasized that the Ministry of International Cooperation is in continuous coordination with the relevant ministries and bodies to obtain the necessary approvals to implement the projects approved by the Management Committee, with the aim of quickly completing the signing of the executive agreements for those projects and benefiting from those amounts.
Moreover, the possibility of the Italian side participating in the “Hub for Advisory, Finance & Investment for Enterprises” platform was discussed, which was launched by the Ministry to become a unified platform for financial and technical services provided by development partners to the private sector, whether large or small and medium companies, as well as emerging companies in Egypt, in a way that enhances the efforts undertaken by the Ministry to support the private sector in implementation of government directives.
The two sides agreed to begin negotiations for the fourth tranche of the debt swap program for development, and the Italian ambassador confirmed that his government attaches great importance to supporting the sectors targeted by the “NWFE” program, which are water, food, and energy, as the areas of cooperation for the new tranche can be focused on: The agricultural food sector (Agro-food), helping marginalized groups most affected by climate change and food shortages, in addition to investing in human capital, as well as studying the establishment of technical schools in the agricultural sector.
Egypt and Italy have had close relations since the 1970s, and the implementation of the first phase of the debt swap program for development with Italy began in 2001, during which 54 projects were implemented. The second phase was signed in 2007 and witnessed the implementation of 32 projects, then the third and final phase was signed in 2012, during which a number of projects are being implemented. The total amount of the three phases is about $350 million. Through this partnership, many projects have been implemented.
In 2001, the implementation of the first phase of the program began at a value of $150 million, through which 54 projects were implemented, the most important of which were rural development in western Nubariya, the establishment of schools and the development of education, projects in the field of green transformation, monitoring the production cycle of agricultural crops, and rehabilitation. Water supply systems in Beheira Governorate.
In 2007, the implementation of the second phase of the program began at a value of $100 million, through which 32 projects were implemented, the most important of which were the sectors of combating poverty and creating job opportunities, solid waste management, establishing a wastewater treatment plant in Rubiki, modernizing secondary industrial schools, and establishing technical education complexes. In Fayoum, in 2012, the third phase was signed at a value of $100 million, through which a number of projects were implemented and others are being implemented in the fields of food security and agriculture, higher education sectors, civil society support, environmental projects and preservation of cultural heritage, and projects to empower female breadwinners, the establishment of 10 wheat storage silos, and projects to empower and protect children.