The Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat welcomed a French delegate from France’s Ministry of Finance, including Head of the French Economic Mission in Cairo, Michel Oldenburg; Deputy Director of the Department of International Project Finance at the French Treasury; Gabriel Komang; French Ambassador to Egypt Stéphane Romatet; Director of the French Development Agency Regional Office in Egypt; Fabio Grazi, and Director of Western European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abdel-Azim. This meeting comes in light of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to France in December 2020, which enhanced cooperation between both countries. The French delegation tackled preparations for the visit of France’s Minister of the Economy and Finance to Egypt on June 12-13, where a meeting will be held with H.E. Al-Mashat, in addition to meetings with several officials in Egypt in order to discuss areas of common cooperation. During the meeting, they discussed the conclusive details of the new financing budget that comes within the framework of the economic cooperation between the governments of Egypt and France,to finance high-priority development projects across several sectors during the period 2021-2025. Al-Mashat stated that the new financial budget will be allocated to projects in several sectors, such as transportation, housing, energy, wholesale markets, which is in line with the Government of Egypt’s priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Minister pointed out that recently, the Ministry of International Cooperation coordinated and followed up with relevant authorities to decide on the final details of the projects to be financed within the framework of the new financial budget. Minister Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of aligning the newly allocated budget with 3 basic pillars: efficiency, price competitiveness, and quick implementation. In addition to providing grants supporting the implementation of feasibility studies for the projects that will be implemented. H.E. stressed on the value of the strategic cooperation between Egypt and France, which highly contributes to supporting Egypt’s Vision 2030. It is worth noting thatPresident Abdel-Fatah El Sisi’s visit to France in December, resulted in signing financing agreements worth EUR 715.6 million, whereas final details on these financings will be agreed on in the current period. H.E. Dr. Rania added that the Ministry of international Cooperation is working towards advancing economic partnerships with multilateral and bilateral development partners through the principles of Economic Diplomacy: Multi-Stakeholders Platform, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) mapping to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at Core”, “Projects in Action,” and “Purpose as the Driver”. The history of cooperation between both countries dates back to 1974, with an economic cooperation portfolio worth EUR 7.5 billion and more than 42 signed protocols supporting Egypt’s economic development to finance development projects. France has implemented many key projects across several sectors, such as the construction of the metro’s 3 lines, the equipment of the new Kasr Al-Aini, the establishment of an information system in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, power stations, as well as the construction and expansion of telephone exchanges in several governorates, the expansion of drinking water and sewage stations, and the development of a system air control. The French Development Agency (AFD) has contributed to financing several projects, most notably Cairo Metro’s 3rd line (the 2nd and 3rd phases), financing of small and micro projects benefiting from the Social Fund for Development (SFD), the delivery of natural gas to homes, support for Small and Medium sized Enterprises in the agricultural sector, as well as improving drinking water and sewage services (1st and 2nd phases). The current cooperation portfolio with the AFD amounts to EUR 1 billion, and it manages grants from the European Union that amount to EUR 90 million.