The Minister of International Cooperation and Egypt’s Governor at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, held a session of bilateral talks with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso, concluding her visit to Egypt which is her first to the region since her election in October 2020. This meeting comes within the framework of the strategic cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD; as Egypt is the largest country of operations for the bank at the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region during 2020, and the largest country of operations in all regions of the bank during 2018 and 2019. The Minister congratulated the President of the EBRD on her election as the first woman to hold this position in the history of the bank, and on the bank’s 30th anniversary, appreciating the role played by the EBRD in supporting development efforts of all countries of operation and contributing to achieving the sustainable development goals. During the meeting, Al-Mashat discussed with Renaud-Basso various areas of strategic cooperation with the bank, which is one of the country’s most prominent development partners as it contributes to advancing development efforts through development financing to the private and public sectors, and supporting Egypt’s strategy in the transition towards a green economy. H.E. Al-Mashat reviewed the Ministry’s role in advancing international partnerships through adopting the three principles of Economic Diplomacy to achieve sustainable development: the organization of Multi-Stakeholder Platforms; the ODA SDG Mapping Framework, as for the first time in history, the Ministry’s development portfolio that is worth $25 billion is aligned with the 17 UN SDGs; and the adoption of a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative that puts People at the Core & Projects in Action & Purpose as the Driver. Al-Mashat also reviewed what has been achieved during 2020 with multilateral and bilateral development partners despite the pandemic, explaining that the Egyptian economy has shown resilience in dealing with the pandemic, which was reflected in the economic performance indicators that the government has worked on for the past years. It is through effective development agreements that the Ministry was able to secure development financing worth $9.8 billion; $6.7 billion for financing sovereign projects, and $3.1 billion in support of the private sector. Al-Mashat said that the EBRD’s new strategy (2021-2025) which was approved in October 2020, is in alignment with Egypt’s development efforts, as the country aims to advance towards the green transition through adopting national projects that are in accordance with environmental standards, smart cities, 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, and digital transformation. She pointed out that this alignment in priorities opens new areas of future cooperation in order to advance towards achieving sustainable development and to enable the economy to recover and build back better. For her part, Renaud-Basso thanked the Minister for her warm and hospitable reception in her first visit to the region, affirming the bank’s strategic cooperation with Egypt. She praised the Egyptian economy’s ability to grow and remain resilient en face of the COVID-19 pandemic; expressing the bank’s keenness on strengthening their partnership with Egypt in order to promote the transition towards a green economy through the new strategy (2021-2025). The EBRD started its operations in Egypt in 2012, investing €7.2 billion in more than 127 projects in the public and private sectors in Egypt; including the financial sector, the agriculture sector, the industrial and trade sector; in addition to financing sustainable infrastructure projects in the energy, water and sanitation services, and transportation sectors.