Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, met with Mr. Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Policies. This was on the sidelines of the 10th meeting of the Egypt-EU Association Council in Brussels, Belgium.
During the meeting, the Minister of International Cooperation stressed the importance and depth of Egyptian-European strategic relations extending over decades, and Egypt’s keenness to develop these relations towards broader horizons in a way that meets development priorities, enhances joint efforts to confront economic challenges, and enhances climate action, in accordance with the country’s priorities.
Al-Mashat highlighted future cooperation pillars in light of the country’s development priorities, as well as the financing tools provided by the European Union, bilateral and regional cooperation programmes, as well as blended financing tools, as the two sides are looking to deepen joint cooperation in the fields of green transformation, energy and water, sustainable transport, and SMEs. This includes enhancing resilience, employing youth, improving skills, supporting digital transformation, and accelerating Egypt’s priorities to implement the National Population Strategy, as well as advancing green and sustainable development efforts, and investment in human capital. One of the most prominent features of partnerships with the European Union is pushing the transformation towards renewable energy by promoting green hydrogen investments.
For his part, the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement stressed the depth of economic cooperation, which is reflected in the financing of projects and programs focused on human capital development, health, technical education, youth and women’s empowerment, food security, energy transfer, economic governance, and other related fields of common interest.
He added that the European Union and European institutions participated with development financing to support Egypt’s Country Platform for the Nexus of Water, Food & Energy (NWFE) and the NWFE+ Sustainable Transport pillar.
It is worth noting that during the activities of the Egypt-EU Association Council, the Minister of International Cooperation presented a recent report under the title “A Shared Development Vision for Progress and Prosperity,” which included a presentation on the Egyptian-European partnerships over a period of 4 years.
The Minister explained that it is an affirmation of those relations. The total number of development financing agreements made available by European countries and banks within the framework of the Team Europe initiative, over the period from 2020 to 2023 amounts to $12.8 billion, including $7.3 billion for public sectors and $5.5 billion for the private sector. This has been dedicated to
sustainable infrastructure, such as transportation, renewable energy, electricity, water and sanitation networks, and small, medium, and micro enterprises. , environment, solid waste management, food security, education and higher education, women’s empowerment, going green, enhancing food security, building sustainable communities and other programs.
To view the Ministry of International Cooperation’s Report “A Shared Development Vision for Progress and Prosperity.”: https://moic.gov.eg/page/egypt-team-europe