● Al-Mashat stresses the importance of the programs implemented within the framework of the partnership with the Swiss side and the role of development cooperation in enhancing green transformation efforts and empowering the private sector in Egypt.
● Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation: We appreciate the effective role and great efforts made by Egypt and its civil society in providing humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza.
The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, held a meeting with Ambassador Patricia Danzi, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Ambassador Maya Tissafi, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of Ambassador Yvonne Baumann, Swiss Ambassador to Egypt, and officials of the Swiss Embassy and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
During the meeting, efforts to prepare the joint cooperation program between Egypt and Switzerland for 2025 to 2028 were discussed, which will continue along the lines of the current Swiss cooperation program from 2021 to 2024, addressing governance, human rights, green growth, youth skills development, protection issues, and migration.
Al-Mashat stressed the importance of Egyptian-Swiss economic cooperation relations, and the Egyptian government’s keenness to strengthen this partnership and move it to broader horizons in a way that serves the national development agenda and enhances the implementation of development priorities in various fields, pointing to the importance of the programs implemented within the framework of the partnership with the Swiss side and their role of development cooperation in enhancing green transformation efforts and empowering the private sector in Egypt.
Al-Mashat reviewed the distinguished cooperation with the institutions of the Team Europe Initiative from 2020 to 2023, and the preparation for the future period of joint work, referring to the comprehensive report on Egyptian development cooperation relations under the title “Egypt & Team Europe: A Shared Development Vision for Progress and Prosperity.” H.E. added that Egyptian-European relations are developing within a framework of integration and partnership that meets development requirements in accordance with national development priorities and determinants,
Al-Mashat referred to Egypt’s Country Platform for the NWFE Program, a nexus of water, food and energy projects, with the aim of implementing the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and stimulating green transformation efforts in Egypt, through mobilizing concessional development financing; technical support and private sector investments, during which a comprehensive, green and digital approach was followed, focusing on priority projects in the water, food and energy sectors, and benefiting from international partnerships to move from pledges to implementation.
Al-Mashat explained that the projects included within the NWFE program, achieve many goals, the most important of which is moving forward towards comprehensive development in various parts of Egypt, and diversifying between mitigation projects and adapting to the repercussions of climate change, through the implementation of water desalination projects, supporting the capabilities of small farmers to adapt to the repercussions of climate change, increasing agricultural crop productivity and farmers’ incomes through the use of modern technology and clean energy, and benefiting from innovative financing tools to mobilize investments worth $14.7 billion.
Al-Mashat highlighted the Haya Karima initiative to develop the villages of the Egyptian countryside, in light of a number of development partners who are participating in the initiative, reflecting collaborative efforts towards meeting the SDGs.
Al-Mashat reviewed the most prominent development projects, which come in light of the country’s vision and priorities to advance various development areas, most notably supporting safety and social protection networks through the “Takaful and Karama” program, as well as the comprehensive program for financing social housing, and the program for sustainable sanitation services in rural areas. This is in addition to supporting local development in Upper Egypt, a project to support reform of the education system, development of small and medium enterprises, and development of the health care system.
The meeting also looked into mobilizing efforts to help the displaced people affected by the regional situation, as the Swiss side supports the Egyptian Red Crescent, through a contribution of 4 million Swiss francs, in response to the regional appeal of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies.
For her part, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Ambassador Patricia Danzi, expressed her appreciation for the active role and efforts of the Government of Egypt and its civil society, particularly in the current economic situation, in delivering humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza. In November 2023, Switzerland has disbursed an additional USD 102 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and the region that will address basic humanitarian needs such as water, food and medical care.
It is worth noting that Egypt and Switzerland have close economic cooperation relations extending over more than 40 years, and within the framework of development cooperation efforts, funding and technical support have been made available to many development projects and sectors, as well as to the private sector and civil society organizations.