● The role of multilateral development banks has become more important than ever, and we aspire to greater integration between international institutions to support emerging countries
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), congratulated Ms. Odile Renaud Basso, President of the Bank, following her election by the Board of Governors to lead for the next four years, after she assumed the presidency of the Bank in 2020 as the bank’s first female president.
The Minister commented on the Board of Governors’ decision, saying: “Mrs. Odile Renaud-Basso led the EBRD over 4 years full of challenges, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic and passing through many geopolitical challenges. The EBRD played a vital and effective role with member states to confront those challenges, fulfilling its role as one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world.”
Al-Mashat explained that, in light of the continuing challenges facing the world, especially developing countries and emerging economies, member states look forward to the bank playing a greater role in overcoming those challenges, supporting economic stability and development, enhancing cooperation in order to confront climate challenges, and advancing efforts to empower the private sector, and achieving the SDGs.
She stressed that the role of multilateral development banks has become more important than ever in light of the resilience and ability to adapt that these banks have demonstrated to face the urgent challenges represented by the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that what the world is going through today requires strengthening this role and achieving integration between various entities in order to support the ability of countries, especially developing and emerging countries, to move forward towards implementing their development vision, especially as the EBRD is working to expand the scope of its work to include more countries.
It is worth noting that the Minister of International Cooperation, in her capacity as Vice-Chair of the current session of meetings, chaired a high-level session of the Board of Governors during which Ms. Odile Renaud Basso delivered her speech about her candidacy for a new term.
The relationship between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the EBRD goes back to 1991, where Egypt is a founding member. The EBRD made a decision that Egypt was a potential country of operations in 2012, and by 2015 Egypt turned into a full country of operations. The joint cooperation with the EBRD is working to accelerate the pace of achieving the national development vision that is consistent with the UN SDGs.
The EBRD’s operations in Egypt have developed significantly, bringing the bank's total investments since 2012 to about 12 billion euros in 178 projects, more than 80% of those investments to the private sector. Egypt is one of the bank's largest countries of operations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, and also the world. In 2023 the EBRD’s investments in Egypt amounted to about 1.3 billion euros in 16 projects.