Al-Mashat, AFDB Discuss Promoting Co-op in Producing, Exporting Vaccines

On Saturday, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat met with Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of the African Development Bank for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization; and Malinne Blomberg, the African Development Bank’s Deputy Director-General for the North Africa region and Country Manager for Egypt.

During the talks, the two sides discussed enhancing joint cooperation across various sectors, including vaccines’ manufacturing and exporting them to African countries. They also discussed the current projects and preparations for the 2022/2026 joint strategy.

Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of the strategic partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) , which contributes in supporting national efforts to achieve development across different sectors.

This partnership also boosts development partnerships with the private sector and deepens cooperation between African countries. The Minister also noted that the Ministry of International Cooperation coordinates between the bank and different stakeholders in Egypt to push forward development efforts.|

[caption id="attachment_271444" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Al-Mashat, AFDB Discuss Enhancing Co-op in Producing & Exporting Vaccines[/caption]

Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of the African Development Bank for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, expressed that his meetings with relevant officials and the private sector’s representatives, as well as his field visits, underline Egypt’s success stories in scaling up private sector’s engagement in development efforts, which shall also be undertaken across Africa.

Moreover, they tackled the conclusions of the meeting held between Quaynor and the Holding Company for Biopharmaceuticals and Vaccines, Vacsera, which was coordinated by the Ministry of International Cooperation in order to examine means of enhancing cooperation between the bank and Egypt in the manufacturing of vaccines; transforming Egypt into a regional center of producing various types of vaccines.

Quaynor expressed his interest in this project so as to raise the production efficiency in this sector and to promote it into becoming the leading program for development cooperation in Africa.

They also delved into the current status of the ongoing cooperation portfolio with the African Development bank, which amounts to $6.74 billion allocated to financing 107 projects across sectors of economic and social development, of which $1.1 billion were directed to finance 19 private sector entities.

In addition, they addressed areas of future cooperation between Egypt and the African Development Bank, and examined the proposed strategic areas and national priorities aimed at supporting the Government of Egypt’s program of social and economic development. Officials of the African Development Bank further noted that a delegation from the bank will visit Egypt during the month of September to discuss preparations of the 2022/2026 joint strategy.

The ongoing portfolio of cooperation between Egypt and the African Development Bank serves various sectors, as in 2021, the Ministry of International Cooperation signed a development financing agreement with the (AfDB) worth EUR 109 million, to develop sanitation services in the Luxor Governorate; supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities. This is in addition to another development financing agreement worth EUR 145 million directed to develop the efficiency and safety of Egypt’s railways, benefiting the Ministry of Transportation.

The development financing agreements signed with the AfDB supports Egypt’s efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDG 1: No Poverty; SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being; SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy; SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth; SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; SDG 13: Climate Action; SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.