● $360 million has been allocated by the AIIB in financing for private sector companies in Egypt. The Ministry is looking to expand through more mechanisms that stimulate private sector participation in development efforts
● The Minister of International Cooperation discussed with the Qatar Fund for Development the promotion of joint cooperation and reviewed the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) platform.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, concluded her participation and meetings during the activities of the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Doha, Qatar by holding two bilateral meetings with Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Khalifa Bin Jassem Al-Kuwari, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), to discuss areas of joint action and to enhance development cooperation efforts.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
At the outset of the meeting, the Minister of International Cooperation welcomed the President of the AIIB, applauding the fruitful cooperation between the two sides and the strong relations, as Egypt was the bank’s first non-Asian country to become a country for operations since it became a founding member in 2016, raising the volume of the development cooperation portfolio to about $1.2 billion, of which $210 million have been allocated for financing 11 companies from the private sector in the field of renewable energy to implement the Benban Solar Energy Complex, and $150 million line of credit for the National Bank of Egypt dedicated to re-lending small and medium enterprises, in addition to $660 million in soft development financing for the government sector.
Furthermore, Al-Mashat discussed expanding the scope of cooperation with the bank based on the results achieved over the past period and expanding the financing mechanisms available to the private sector. H.E. also noted that the Arab Republic of Egypt hosting the bank's annual meetings in 2023 will represent a great opportunity to expand the scope of operations, especially for private sector companies. This is in line with the Government of Egypt’s efforts to increase the participation of the private sector in development and stimulate public-private partnerships.
The Minister stressed the importance of efforts and cooperation programs with multilateral development banks, especially in the field of infrastructure, in order to enhance the ability of developing countries and least developed countries given successive economic shocks.
Al-Mashat was also keen to discuss the ongoing development cooperation programs, as well as future projects with the bank that come in light of the country's development priorities, including the project to develop the Abu Qir metro in Alexandria, and the project to develop sanitation services in the Egyptian countryside H.E. also reviewed the country platform for the nexus of water, food and energy, (NWFE Program) which acts as a link between the aforementioned sectors, and reflect Egypt's endeavor to provide an integrated approach and model for developing countries and emerging markets to launch national platforms that stimulate climate finance.
Qatar Fund for Development
In another context, Al-Mashat met with the Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), where she noted the role played by the fund in supporting development efforts at the regional and international levels in many sectors, pointing to the keenness of the Arab Republic of Egypt to consolidate development cooperation relations with fund in light of its endeavor to support development efforts through multilateral cooperation.
During the meeting, the Minister spoke about the country’s efforts to stimulate climate action through the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 (NCCS 2050), and the launch of the NWFE Program, which includes 9 priority projects selected from the NCCS with the aim of stimulating efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. H.E. explained that since the launch of the program last July, many discussions were held with multilateral and bilateral development partners and international financing institutions, and cooperation documents and exchanged letters were signed to mobilize various financing mechanisms at COP27.
It is worth noting that Al-Mashat delivered Egypt’s speech during the opening plenary session of the 5th UN Conference on the LDCs. H.E. also participated in many discussion sessions and held bilateral meetings with a number of government officials, international institutions and UN agencies.