The Minister of International Cooperation highlighted that Egypt’s reforms have helped it become more resilient to a shock-prone world, which came during a high-level meeting with the Board of Directors of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development in London.
The meeting was attended by Odile Renaud Basso, Chair of the Board of Directors, Jurgen Rigterink, First Vice President and President of CS Group, Soha El-Turky, EBRD's Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Alan Bello, Vice President of Banking, Mark Bowman, Vice President of Policy and Partnerships, Kazuhiko Koguchi, Secretary General of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Heike Harmgart, Regional Director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, Khaled Hamza, Director of the Egypt Office, Ambassador of Egypt to the United Kingdom, Sherif Kamel, Philip Lindsay, member of the Board of Directors of the Bank representing Egypt, and Asma Zayed, Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development hailed the Ministry of International Cooperation’s role in designing a country-led multi stakeholder framework, which included the dynamic participation of all relevant stakeholders from the government represented in ministries, the private sector, civil society, women, youth and girls, which reflects Egypt's keenness to enhance multilateral cooperation and consolidate its economic relations with international institutions.
Recently, the Ministry of International Cooperation and the EBRD organized the launching ceremony for the new country strategy for Egypt for the period 2022 to 2027, which included 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 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development hailed Egypt's structural reforms and the country-led multi-stakeholder framework, and referred to it as a model for other emerging economies to follow. Odile Renaud Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, also commended President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his bold actions and commitments to empower women and address climate action and water security. Minister Rania A. Al-Mashat also noted that Egypt regards development partners and the private sector as key allies in development. The Minister also emphasized Egypt, bolstered by its strategic location, can act as the gateway for the private sector to Africa to spur trade exchange, knowledge and technical expertise. The Minister also referred to Egypt's bold vision for the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Agreement (COP27), which aims to advance climate action through inclusive participation of all stakeholders across all levels - locally, regionally and internationally - and inspire the world to transform its commitments and pledges into implementation. 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.