Al-Mashat, Country Director of GIZ Discuss Joint Cooperation

Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met with Dr. Alexander Solyga, Country Director of the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Egypt, to discuss areas of joint cooperation in the framework of Egypt’s development priorities and the status of ongoing projects implemented in partnership with government agencies.

The meeting was attended by Stephanie Sorensen, Secretary and Deputy Head of the Development Cooperation sector at the German Embassy in Cairo,

This meeting comes within the framework of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s readiness to hold periodic meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners; to follow up on the portfolio of ongoing projects and to resolve any obstacles that arise during implementation and coordinate with relevant government agencies in order to ensure the achievement of the desired results from the projects implemented in collaboration with development partners.

The discussion covered the status of ongoing projects with the GIZ in Egypt and stakeholders. The cooperation portfolio with the GIZ includes 14 projects that amount to about €117.8 million across different sectors: migration, energy efficiency, renewable energy, sanitation services, labor market, technical education and vocational training, urban development, administrative reform, development of women and youth, community development, private sector support, and solid waste management.

They also discussed global partnerships that have recently been implemented, including the Egyptian-German Centre for Jobs, Migration, and Reintegration (EGC) which was inaugurated in November 2020 under the supervision of the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs. The project received development financing worth €2 million.

H.E. Al-Mashat said that the Ministry is working towards advancing global partnerships to promote effective economic and development cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners, through the three principles of Economic Diplomacy; Multi Stakeholders Platform, the Official Development Assistance mapping to the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at Core”, “Projects in Action,” and “Purpose as the Driver”.

The Minister praised the cooperation with Germany, involving the different stakeholders to push forward the development agenda, be it line ministries or the KfW development bank. Al-Mashat reiterated that the partnerships with Germany work towards enhancing joint cooperation in light of Egypt’s development vision.

Dr. Alexander Solyga, Director of the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), thanked the Ministry of International Cooperation for its coordinating role in facilitating partnerships with stakeholders and line ministers to implement development projects.

Among the most prominent projects implemented in cooperation between relevant authorities, line ministries and the GIZ, is the National Solid Waste Management Programme (NSWMP), amounting to €6 million for the Ministry of Environment, aiming to reform Egypt’s waste sector and to build an integrated system for solid waste management across four governorates: Kafr El Sheikh, Al Gharbia, Qena, and Assiut.

The bilateral portfolio also encompasses the Agricultural Innovation Project (AIP) that is worth €7 million, allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. The AIP aims to increase the income of small farmers in Upper Egypt through tapping on innovation in the agricultural sector.

Moreover, the Employment Promotion Programme (EPP III) which amounts to €16 million allocated to the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, aims to promote youth employment through providing job opportunities of a non-academic nature, and technical and vocational training, in order to prepare them for the labor market.

The Ministry’s cooperation portfolio with Germany amounts to €1.7 billion to develop various sectors and to advance towards achieving the sustainable development goals: energy efficiency, renewable energy, water sanitation, irrigation, solid waste management, migration, labor market, private sector support, technical education, vocational training, urban development, and administrative reform, development of women and youth, and community development.