Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), met with Vahe Hovhannisyan, Minister of Finance of Armenia, within the framework of the discussions H.E. is holding meetings with officials of governments and international institutions, during her participation in the annual meetings of the Bank held in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
During the meeting, the Minister of International Cooperation discussed with the Armenian side the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries. She stressed Egypt’s keenness to advance economic relations and fruitful cooperation between the two countries at all levels, which was reflected in the visit of the Prime Minister of Armenia to Egypt last March, and his meeting with H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the signing of three documents for joint cooperation in the fields of economy, environment, and agriculture.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the ongoing technical discussions regarding holding the sixth session of the Egyptian-Armenian Joint Committee and the documents proposed to be signed between the two countries during the third quarter of 2024.
In this regard, the Minister of International Cooperation stressed the importance of holding the Egyptian-Armenian Business Forum within the activities of the sixth session of the Joint Committee, in a way that enhances joint cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries, especially in sectors of priority and common interest, including medicines, manufacturing, tourism, and industries, food, trade, and investment.
The joint committees are an important mechanism for activating and developing bilateral cooperation relations, benefiting from experiences between countries in various fields, and strengthening common positions. The Ministry of International Cooperation is responsible for supervising 68 committees between the Arab Republic of Egypt and countries from various continents of the world, including 8 Asian committees, 30 European committees, 14 committees with Arab countries, 9 African committees, in addition to 7 committees with Latin American countries.
The Minister of International Cooperation stated that Egypt looks forward to advancing trade and investment relations between the two countries in a way that meets common ambitions and strengthens the connection between private sector companies.
Moreover the Minister of International Cooperation reviewed the joint relations with the EBRD, and the role it plays as one of Egypt’s main development partners, to advance development efforts through financing projects and involving the private sector, noting that the Bank plays the role of the main development partner in the energy pillar. This is within the “NWFE” program, which comes within the framework of the state’s efforts to implement the National Climate Change Strategy 2050.
The discussions touched on opportunities for joint cooperation with the Armenian side to exchange experiences on launching the country platform for the “NWFE” program, as it is a model for national platforms aimed at attracting climate investments, in light of international reports that indicate the importance of these platforms to unify efforts in order to provide the necessary financing for climate action.