● Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat: Strengthening cooperation efforts with the World Bank to localize international technologies in the field of climate-smart agriculture in Egypt.
● Global Director of the Agriculture and Food Global Practice at the WBG, Martien van Nieuwkoop: We are happy with our partnership with the Ministry of International Cooperation and we are working to support the green growth path in Egypt through technological solutions.
The Ministry of International Cooperation announced the launch of a new partnership with the World Bank Group (WBG) to stimulate innovation in the field of climate-smart agriculture, during an event organized by the Ministry in the Egyptian Pavilion within the activities of the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, in the United Arab Emirates.
This partnership works to benefit from the Egypt Climate Smart Agriculture Innovation and Tech-based Entrepreneurship (EgCITE) project, funded by the Korean Green Growth Trust Fund, which works to localize international technologies and best practices to promote climate-smart agriculture in Egypt, in the application of the Climate Resilient Agri-Food Transformation (CRAFT) project within the NWFE program.
Through this partnership, the Ministry of International Cooperation and the WBG are working to strengthen joint work efforts to encourage innovation in the field of climate-smart agriculture to implement the NWFE program projects. The scope of its work is being expanded to include the regional level, especially the continent of Africa, and to stimulate the launch of a group of innovative digital applications that suit the nature of agriculture in Egypt, and respond to aspects of demand by supporting skills development, knowledge transfer, empowering the private sector, and benefiting from the best international technologies that suit the agricultural sector in Egypt to be localized and applied.
The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, stressed the importance of the partnership with the WBG and the Korean Green Growth Trust Fund, which works to localize climate-smart agriculture in the region and Egypt, explaining that an essential part of sustainable economic development and green growth is closely linked to sustainable infrastructure and the efficient use of resources, which we will work to achieve through cooperation with the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund managed by the WBG.
H.E. explained that cooperation with the WBG through the EgCITE project will stimulate innovation in the field of climate-smart agriculture, and support entrepreneurship in the field of green technology, in a way that supports the efficiency and environmental sustainability of agricultural food systems in Egypt, in line with the principles of comprehensive and resilient development, and enhances the fight against climate changes and food security challenges, through the CRAFT project within the NWFE program.
H.E. pointed out that the NWFE program, the connection between water, food and energy projects, is consistent with the UNSDCF with the WBG 2023-2027, which was approved this year, with two main goals: achieving more through the private sector and creating an environment conducive to investments. In addition to improving the ability to withstand shocks and confront the challenges of food security and climate change, H.E. noted that cooperation with the WBG comes within the framework of activating some of the recommendations contained in the Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) that was launched during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh last November. It also enhances Egypt's regional role in leading the efforts of the climate action agenda and combating the effects of climate change.
The Global Director of the Agriculture and Food Global Practice at the WBG, Martien van Nieuwkoop, expressed his happiness with this partnership with the Ministry of International Cooperation, through the EgCITE project, explaining that this partnership will support the green growth path in Egypt by supporting local solutions that focus on climate-smart agricultural technologies.
Localizing climate-smart agriculture technology is one of the solutions that stimulate the ability to adapt to climate change, address vulnerabilities in supply chains, infrastructure and local practices, and improve access to local production, distribution and support networks.
In a related context, the session witnessed the presentation of experiences and models of startup companies that won the international Climatech Run competition for the years 2022 and 2023, and which benefited from the competition in identifying expansion opportunities in Egypt and the Middle East region, including the startup Ryp Labs working in the field of food security and agriculture in countries like USA and Belgium, which won 1st place in the competition during the year 2022, and began taking actual steps to study the Egyptian market and other markets in the region to expand the scope of its business.