● Al-Mashat highlights the strength of relations between the two countries and the government's keenness to expand private sector participation in development.
● Al-Mashat discusses mechanisms for implementing the Memorandum of Understanding for the strategic partnership for economic and financial cooperation and discusses efforts to empower the private sector.
● More than $1.26 billion make up for the investments of the JBIC in Egypt, and the representative of the bank confirms the aspiration for more joint cooperation.
● JBIC finances the private sector to implement two wind energy projects with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts in the Gulf of Zayt and Ras Ghareb.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, met Uchida Makoto, Global President and Head of the Environment and Infrastructure Finance Group at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), within the framework of the activities of the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to the Arab Republic of Egypt, in light of the strategic relations between the two countries. During the meeting, they discussed mechanisms for implementing the memorandum of understanding for the strategic partnership for financial and economic cooperation that was signed within the activities of the visit, and efforts to enhance the role of Japanese private sector companies to support Egypt’s development efforts, climate action and implementation of infrastructure projects, and to discuss the participation of the Japanese private sector in implementing the Nexus for Water, Food, and Energy platform, the NWFE program.
At the outset of the meeting, the Minister welcomed the JBIC official and his accompanying delegation, noting the importance of the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to Egypt, and H.E. emphasized on the strength and long-standing joint relations, and the commitment from the leaders of the two countries to move forward towards enhancing the level of strategic relations and increasing areas of joint cooperation.
The Minister reviewed Egypt’s Country Platform for the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy, the NWFE program, which was launched at COP27, to serve as an example and model for country platforms aimed at stimulating development and climate action, by focusing on 3 main pillars: water, food and energy, pointing that the government is looking forward to the participation of the Japanese private sector in the implementation of projects.
Al-Mashat applauded the Japanese role in supporting many important projects in Egypt, in cooperation with Japanese companies, and providing soft development financing mechanisms for private sector companies, highlighting the joint efforts between Egypt and Japan in supporting the transportation system, especially metro projects in light of the state's vision to develop sustainable infrastructure, which comes within one of the important pillars of the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy platform, the “NWFE+” program.
Al-Mashat welcomed the cooperation with the Japanese side, one of Egypt's most important partners in development, and its keenness to stimulate development funds and green investments, and looks forward to a new phase that enhances climate action and expands the base of private sector participation in development, stressing that the government is working to provide all the necessary facilities and procedures to attract more Japanese investments in various fields, especially in the field of renewable energy, which is among the vital sectors for achieving sustainable development in Egypt.
H.E. also spoke about the Ministry's 2022 Annual Report, "From Pledges to Implementation", which documents development cooperation efforts with all development partners during the past year to support the implementation of climate pledges and the provision of concessional development financing, pointing out that $7 billion has been provided. The private sector has been one of the development partners over the past 3 years, which reflects the commitment of the Egyptian state and government to facilitating all measures aimed at the participation of the private sector and strengthening its role in development.
Al-Mashat referred to the bank's contribution to support the efforts of the private sector's contribution to development projects, where an agreement was signed to implement a project to establish a wind farm with a capacity of 500 megawatts in the Gulf of Zayt region, through cooperation with Sumitomo Corporation Group, worth $281 million. Last March, JBIC signed an agreement with the Red Sea Wind Energy Company worth $240 million to implement a project to establish a wind energy farm in Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea with a capacity of 500 megawatts, to be implemented through Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Egyptian Electricity Holding Company.
For his part, the representative of the Japanese bank stressed the importance of Egypt as an investment destination for Japan and a gateway to the continent of Africa, noting that Egypt's hosting of COP27 last November reflected positively on the interest of Japanese companies in supporting energy projects in Egypt.
He expressed the bank's interest in supporting the renewable energy sector in Egypt within the framework of the Egyptian government's strategy for climate change 2050, by supporting and financing wind energy projects, within the framework of efforts aimed at enhancing environmental sustainability and economic development in Egypt within the "NWFE" program, explaining that the bank's investments in Egypt exceed $1.26 billion for the private sector to implement many projects in various fields, especially renewable energy.
It is worth noting that a strategic partnership memorandum of understanding was signed between the government and the JBIC, including a number of areas of cooperation to serve the sustainable development goals, such as the “NWFE” program, the decent life initiative, carbon emissions reduction and various development sectors.
Established in 1999, the JBIC operates in 18 countries through 21 offices. The main purpose of the bank is to promote economic cooperation between Japan and overseas countries by providing resources for foreign investment and promoting international trade.