The Minister of International Cooperation discusses developing joint Egyptian-Swedish relations and strengthening private-sector partnerships on both sides.
Al-Mashat: The Government of Egypt is continuously stimulating investment and creating the environment for further public-private partnerships.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation met with Diana Janse, State Secretary to Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, on the sidelines of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC), held in Doha, Qatar, from March 5 to 9 March, under the theme "From Potential to Prosperity".
This conference includes the participation of world leaders, representatives of the private sector, civil society, parliamentarians and youth to come up with new ideas, obtain new commitments of support, and stimulate the fulfillment of the commitments agreed through the Doha Programme of Action. The conference is expected to announce specific initiatives and tangible results that will help address the challenges of the least developed countries.
At the beginning of the meeting, Al-Mashat stressed the long-standing relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Sweden, in light of the Swedish experience in various areas of development and relative advantages, especially at the level of solid waste management, food industries, engineering and machinery and equipment manufacturing, green technology, and renewable energy, pointing to the government's interest to strengthen relations with the Swedish side, especially through partnerships between the two countries' sectors in order to advance trade and investment partnerships and build on the progress made in the recent period.
The Minister also touched on the national measures to stimulate investment and attract more companies, especially in priority areas such as industry, renewable energy, electricity, tourism, agricultural development and water resources management, in order to implement the large-scale projects targeted by the state through partnerships between the public and private sectors. H.E. shared some of the Government of Egypt’s progress on stimulating green transformation efforts through projects that take into account environmental standards, sustainability and digital transformation in all sectors, as well as the launch of the National Country Climate Strategy 2050.
The meeting discussed the importance of intensifying financing mechanisms through international financial institutions, and multilateral and bilateral development partners, to promote facilitated development finance for developing countries, enabling them to implement their national development plans that align with the global goals, and expand green transition efforts.
The Nexus for Water, Food and Energy platform, also known as the NWFE country-led platform, was also discussed. Al-Mashat explained that this incorporates three pillars and sectors: water, food and energy, reflecting Egypt's efforts through this programme to advance green transition efforts and promote green investments to implement mitigation and adaptation projects. H.E. encouraged the Swedish side to look into more details of these projects to discuss possible partnerships between the two sides, especially through the private sector in their implementation.
It is worth noting that Sweden currently holds the presidency of the European Union, and the relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Sweden are characterized by diversity in many commercial, cultural and educational fields. Over the past two years, the Egyptian market has witnessed an increasing presence of Swedish companies, especially in the fields of electronics, medical equipment, and technology. A joint committee for economic, commercial and technical cooperation took place between Egypt and Sweden in 1975, supervised by the Ministry of International Cooperation, in addition to a joint business forum for businessmen from both.