● Al-Mashat: It is necessary to highlight Egypt’s experience in issuing the first Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) to achieve alignment between development priorities and climate action.
The Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the World Bank Group (WBG), H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, met with Meskerem Brhane, Regional Director for Sustainable Development in the MENA region at the World Bank Group, and Stephane Guimbert, the Bank’s Regional Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, in the presence of the Ministry’s technical team and the World Bank team at the headquarters of the Ministry in the New Administrative Capital.
The meeting aimed to discuss cooperation efforts between the Egyptian government and the World Bank and follow up on efforts to implement ongoing projects in many fields that meet the state’s development requirements.
At the beginning of the meeting, Al-Mashat welcomed World Bank officials, stressing the depth of relations between the government and the World Bank and their diversity in various areas of development that serve the country’s priorities, and the Arab Republic of Egypt’s appreciation for this partnership, whether at the level of development financing or technical support, and its importance in implementing many projects that It directly benefits citizens, including the expansion of social protection programs “Takaful and Karama,” the Universal Health Insurance project, the Upper Egypt development project, food security programs, and other basic sectors.
The meeting referred to the projects being implemented in priority areas, especially the air pollution control project in Greater Cairo, in addition to investment projects in human capital, especially social protection and expanding Hayah Karima (A Decent Life), as well as education development projects, in addition to discussing future projects.
Al-Mashat referred to the meeting of HE. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, with Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, during the World Government Summit in Dubai, where they discussed various files of joint cooperation and the role that the World Bank plays in supporting the empowerment of the private sector and increasing development efforts.
The meeting also discussed projects aimed at improving the adaptation and resilience of agricultural lands, and supporting farmers in adopting new adaptation practices, by adopting climate-smart practices that improve productivity, achieve economic benefits, and improve preparedness to confront climate risks using graphic analyzes and risk management methods through the Climate Resilient Agri-Food Transformation (CRAFT) project within the NWFE program.
H.E. pointed to the successful cooperation between the government and the World Bank in issuing the Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR), which reviews Egypt’s challenges and opportunities to achieve compatibility between Egypt’s development goals and climate. The report identifies opportunities to reduce deficiencies, manage risks, and strengthen the necessary foundation for increasing private sector participation, explaining the need to highlight the Egyptian experience in issuing the climate and development report and to translate the recommendations into implementable projects that enhance development priorities in Egypt.
It is worth noting that the ongoing portfolio of development cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the World Bank Group includes 14 projects worth $6.9 billion, in the fields of education, health, transportation, social protection, renewable energy, water desalination, housing, local development, and the environment.