This comes within the framework of the Ministry’s endeavor to strengthen and develop economic cooperation relations between Egypt and international and regional states and organizations.

During the meeting, the Minister was accompanied by Mona Ahmed, Sector Head in the Ministry of International Cooperation; Sherihan Bakhit, Associate to the Minister handling the Americas and Europe portfolios; and Daila Sadeq, Associate to the Minister coordinating the European Union and the European Investment Bank portfolios. H.E. Al-Mashat discussed new cooperation areas with the Swiss officials, suggesting the focus to be on climate action, renewable energy, and women's empowerment, along the engagement of the private sector in the national development framework. The Ministry of International Cooperation intends on making 2021 the year to enhance the public-private dialogue in the transformation work done to achieve a sustainable, green economy. Al-Mashat welcomed the Swiss Ambassador to Egypt and the new Head of the Swiss International Cooperation Office and wished her success in her new duty. She also praised the strategic relations in economic cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland, which extends for more than four decades and resulted in many partnership agreements in various fields. H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat affirmed that the Ministry of International Cooperation seeks to develop and strengthen relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners through the three key principles of Economic Diplomacy: Multi-Stakeholder Platforms, the Official development Assistance Mapping to the SDGs, and the Global Partnerships Narrative. The Minister looks forward to developing more partnerships with Switzerland in promoting the national development agenda and the UN SDGs, as well as supporting the participation and engagement of the private sector through international partnerships. From his end, the Swiss Ambassador to Egypt congratulated the Minister of International Cooperation on launching the 2020 annual report, looking forward to joint coordination during the coming period in the framework of strengthening economic cooperation relations between Egypt and Switzerland in various fields through the new cooperation program 2021/2024. As part of the Ministry’s development framework and Egypt’s 2030 Sustainable Development Vision, Al-Mashat emphasized that 2021 will be the year to provide more opportunities for the private sector to participate in development plans; especially through the Environmental, Social and Governance principles that will help the country to build a circular, green economy. The Ministry of International Cooperation has recently launched the digital campaign "#GameChangers", which aims to demonstrate the private sector's participation in development efforts, and the value of public-private partnerships to implement the national development agenda, achieve a sustainable future, and to build towards a green economy. #GameChangers highlights the unique engagement of the public and private sectors in different development projects through the Global Partnerships Narrative: People at the Core, Projects in Action, and Purpose as the Driver. H.E Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat had previously held meetings with several officials from Switzerland in 2020, including Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Federal Adviser, the Minister of State for Swiss Economic Affairs; along with representatives of the business ecosystem and the Swiss Parliament, in addition to the Swiss Ambassador, in order to discuss the development of bilateral relations between both countries. The partnership between Egypt and Switzerland extends for more than 40 years, during which the Swiss side contributed with more than 700 million Swiss francs to finance the implementation of more than 200 projects in various sectors; and during 2017, the joint strategy for cooperation 2017-2020 was launched to support the national development agenda in light of Egypt's vision 2030. The ongoing development cooperation portfolio between Egypt and Switzerland amounts to $59 million to finance 7 projects in the fields of industry, urban development, water, housing, waste management, communications and health. The Ministry of International Cooperation launched the 2020 annual report "International Partnerships for Sustainable Development: Writing the Future in a Changing Global Dynamic", which reviews the prospects and efforts of cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners. The Ministry was able to secure $9.8 billion in development financing agreements: from which $6.7 billion were directed to finance sovereign projects and $3.1 billion were allocated to the support of the private sector.