H.E. Minister of International Cooperation, Rania A.Al-Mashat: The new country strategy comes at a pivotal time that echoes global sentiment to drive the green finance agenda forward and address climate change, equity, and governance
H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E Sameh Shoukry: Egypt is “keeping pace in the global race towards SDG progress” Setting out a comprehensive framework that is based on a holistic scheme of inclusive-green-growth nexus, which complements Egypt’s role as a regional leader in its transition to a green economy, the Ministry of International Cooperation organized the launching ceremony for the new country strategy for Egypt for the period 2022 to 2027, with the participation of a diversity of stakeholders from the government, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the private sector, representatives of parliament, and civil society. The launching ceremony was attended by H.E Amb. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markaby, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, H.E. Eng. Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, H.E. Dr. Khaled El Anani, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, H.E. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Lieutenant-General Kamel El Wazir, Minister of Transport, H.E. Nevin Gamea, Minister of Industry and Trade, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development delegation headed by Mark Bowman, Vice President of the Bank for Policy and Partnerships.
From the private sector, the ceremony witnessed the participation of Reham El-Beltagy, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Orascom, Ahmed El-Sewedi, President and CEO of Elsewedy Electric, Pakinam Kafafi, CEO of TAQA Arabia, Marwa Ahmed, founder of Dallah Misr, Ahmed El-Dakrouri, CEO of Falak Startups, and Mahmoud El-Saeed, founder of Wasla.
At the core of the new country strategy is a combination of green growth and inclusive growth objectives, which is a novel development model that enables Egypt to embark on the path towards more effective sustainable development. It is focused on three strategic priorities: promoting a more inclusive economy for Egyptian businesses, women and youth, accelerating Egypt’s green economy transition, and enhancing the country’s competitiveness by supporting private-sector growth and strengthening governance. In her speech, H.E. Minister Rania A.Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, said that this new country strategy comes at a pivotal time, where the global sentiment is now focused on driving the green finance agenda forward and addressing climate change, equity, and governance. Egypt analyzes its current strength as a labor-intensive manufacturing economy in parallel with the value addition of shifting to an innovative economy, which is why the country strategy is also focused on skills development for women and youth, launching the first sector-skills platform in Egypt for training and work-based learning opportunities. The Minister added that the strategy is an outcome of a long process of consultations through a participatory and transparent approach with all stakeholders, reflecting the values of collaboration and strong determination to drive the sustainable development agenda forward.
The new country strategy is also in line with national initiatives and reform measures, such as Egypt Vision 2030, the National Human Rights Strategy, the National Climate Change Strategy, and the 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, as well as the “Decent Life” initiative to promote inclusive and comprehensive development in Egypt.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E Sameh Shoukry, noted that Egypt is “keeping pace in the global race towards SDG progress” that encapsulates several challenges, such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and rising economic risks due to geopolitical events. Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, H.E. Dr. Mohamed Shaker El-Markaby, noted that Egypt is on the path to diversifying its energy mix and reducing emissions by converting to natural gas, adding that the consumption of natural gas in Egypt has been steadily increasing, reaching more than 65%. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, H.E. Dr. Khaled El-Anany, noted that the Ministry's future sustainable development strategy is focused on enhancing cooperation with international organizations to establish specialized training centers, and to prepare training programs to develop the capacities of workers in various tourist facilities and activities, archaeological sites and museums. Minister of Environment, H.E. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, expressed that the new country strategy provides an opportunity for young people to be part of the green transition, and to include the role of the private sector and civil society in Egypt’s green transformation, which represents the heart of Egypt’s National Climate Change Strategy 2050.
Mark Bowman, EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships, said, “We are very pleased to launch the new strategy with Egypt to contribute to economic development and green transformation. By implementing the new strategy, the EBRD will continue to work to increase its investments and strong policy engagement to drive greater private sector participation in development and enhance economic governance.”
The strategic partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development dates back to 1991. Over the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, Egypt was the largest country of operations in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, and the total investments of the Bank since the beginning of its operations in 2012 amounted to about 8.6 billion euros in 145 projects at the state level, of which 76% to finance the private sector and 24% to the public sector.