● Al-Mashat: The international community calls for increasing concessional development financing for developing countries to achieve comprehensive and sustainable recovery and enhance climate action.
● Strengthening integration with Chinese agencies and institutions to provide concessional development financing and grants for the implementation of priority projects.
● CIDCA commends Egypt’s representation at the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development in Beijing last July and stresses the Chinese side’s keenness to consolidate joint cooperation.
In continuation of H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat’s meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners during the annual meetings of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Minister of International Cooperation, held a meeting with the Chinese International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Head of the Global Development Promotion Center Tang Ying, and the agency’s work team. That was in the presence of Ambassador Abu Bakr Mahmoud, Advisor to the Minister of International Cooperation for Asian Affairs, and Dr. Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Head of the Cooperation Sector with the United Nations, Multilateral International Financial Institutions, and officials from the Chinese side. The meeting witnessed a discussion of enhancing joint cooperation in making soft development financing available to support development efforts, and following up on the results of the Minister’s visit to Beijing, last July.
During the meeting, Al-Mashat welcomed the officials of CIDCA, thanking them for the warm reception during her visit to Beijing, and the successful discussions to strengthen joint relations.
Forum on Global Action for Shared Development
The Director General of CIDCA applauded Egypt’s representation in the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development in Beijing last July. She also noted the Chinese side’s praise and welcome of the speech delivered by the Minister of International Cooperation, during the meeting that brought together the participating delegations with Vice President of the People's Republic of China, Han Zheng, during which she stressed the necessity of establishing an institutional framework for the forum to enhance cooperation between the countries of the South, and how Egypt's welcome to host the first edition of these meetings outside China. She also stressed the Chinese side's keenness to enhance joint cooperation in various priority areas of development.
Integration between Chinese development partners
During the meeting, Al-Mashat pointed out the importance of developing an integrated approach to cooperation with development partners from China, represented by the Export-Import Bank of China and the CIDCA, to mobilize soft development financing and grants to implement development projects in Egypt in light of common priorities.
H.E. stressed that, in light of the economic challenges faced by developing countries and emerging economies around the world, the international community calls for an increase in concessional development financing, grants, and blended financing that stimulates the private sector of developing countries to preserve development gains, overcome those challenges, and achieve a comprehensive and sustainable recovery, in light of the very convenient terms and conditions of these financings and their ability to advance development efforts without placing additional burdens on those countries, which explains the increasing demand by various countries for these financings.
Global Development Initiative
Al-Mashat also discussed the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on the Global Development Initiative (GDI) that was signed last July, with the aim of advancing the Egyptian-Chinese partnership and establishing a mechanism for consultation at the departmental level, as well as working to formulate an integrated program for development cooperation between Egypt and China for a period of 3-5 years for the first time.
H.E. stressed the need to begin technical discussions to set cooperation priorities during the next stage to enhance the Government of Egypt’s development vision through the memorandum of understanding that was signed, and to explore opportunities for cooperation between countries of the South and triangular cooperation, explaining that the Ministry has a framework to enhance South-South cooperation and stimulate exchange efforts, experience, knowledge and technology through pioneering development experiences implemented with multilateral and bilateral development partners.
Egyptian-Chinese relations
Al-Mashat’s visit to China last July also witnessed the signing of 4 cooperation documents, to provide Chinese grants to supply equipment to the Ministry of Transport, establish a vocational training center in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and prepare the feasibility study for the 3rd biosafety laboratory for the Ministry of Health.
It is worth noting that the total cooperation portfolio with China amounts to about $1.7 billion to implement many projects in various development sectors, including electricity, health, education, vocational training, and others. Recently, Al-Mashat witnessed the ceremony of completing the work of assembling and testing the satellite, Misr Sat 2, in cooperation with the Chinese side, at the headquarters of the Egyptian Space Agency.