Al-Mashat: EBRD's New Strategy In Line With Gov't Priorities

The Minister of International Cooperation and Egypt’s Governor at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, stated that the new 2021-2025 strategy adopted by the EBRD is in line with the Government of Egypt’s priorities and the national development agenda.

She further elaborated that the Ministry of International Cooperation is working on streamlining efforts with the bank to catalyze Egypt's transition towards a green economy.

EBRD’s new strategy (2021-2025) was approved in the annual meeting last October. The strategy is based on three pillars: supporting the transition to a green economy and promoting environmental sustainability; promoting equal opportunity through access to skills and employment for women and young people; and accelerating the digital transition.

The Minister explained in a release, that in line with the first pillar supporting the transition to a green economy and promoting environmental sustainability, the Ministry is partnering with the EBRD to launch an initiative that aims to develop the Green Cities Action Plan (GCAP) to support Egypt’s transition towards a green economy.

Al-Mashat referred to the exerted efforts to boost the country’s green transition, which puts Egypt at the top amid countries supporting the green economy at the regional level. The Ministry’s projects portfolio is streamlined according to the sustainable development agenda; for instance, Jabal al-Zeit wind farm and Aswan’s Benban Solar Park are two green projects implemented in collaboration with the private sector and various development partners including EBRD, the European Union (EU), and the African Development Bank (AFD).

Moreover, in September 2020, Egypt issued $750 million in green bonds; in what was the region’s first sovereign offering of climate-friendly securities.

The Minister mentioned that the partnership with the EBRD works on supporting national efforts to enhance the transition towards a green economy; supporting all projects that consider environmental sustainability standards, be it under the public or the private sector. She stressed that the bank is committed to supporting the countries of operations in enhancing and accelerating the low-carbon economy.

As for the second pillar; promoting equal opportunity through access to skills and employment for women and young people, H.E. Al-Mashat reviewed the efforts exerted within this framework showcasing the “Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator” action plan launched earlier this year to push towards an inclusive economy. The Ministry of International Cooperation, together with the National Council for Women (NCW), the World Economic Forum, and the private sector launched the accelerator's action plan; which is the first of its kind public-private collaboration model in Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa.

The action plan lists clear tasks and indicators to increase women’s participation in the labor force, close gender gaps in remuneration and investment, advance more women into management and leadership positions, and hardwire gender parity in the future of work.

In 2020, Egypt won Silver and Bronze prizes as part of the EBRD’s 2020 Sustainability Awards, respectively for the “Sustainable Energy” category, and the “Gender and Economic Inclusion” category.

Regarding the third pillar; digital transformation, Al-Mashat explained that the Ministry is currently coordinating with the World Bank to provide technical support to the Egyptian government in the development of the real estate registration system and land management in Egypt. A national program is expected to be launched in order to update and automate the real estate registration system, in order to document all estates by 2030.

The initiative, "Our Digital Opportunity” is another stride towards a paperless government. The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) launched the initiative in order to encourage the participation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the digital transformation framework and to increase the competitiveness of these companies in the local and global market.

“Future Work is Digital” (Egypt FWD) is another project supervised by ITIDA in partnership with the public and private sectors. The project offers a scholarship to train the youth in the fields of information technology through a virtual academy.

The Partnership with the EBRD in 2020

The Minister referred to the global partnerships implemented with the EBRD during 2020, as the bank provided development financing for the private sector that amounts to €784 million, within the framework of the Trade Facilitation Programme and the bank’s financing allocated to support the economies of emerging markets in light of the pandemic’s repercussions.

Among the financial institutions that received financing from the EBRD are the National Bank of Egypt, Commercial International Bank, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and QNB Alahli; each received a development financing worth$100 million.

The funds provided by the EBRD to the private sector during 2020 are pided into 93.6% dedicated to financial institutions, 3.9% dedicated to industry and services, 1.9% dedicated to tourism and real estate, and 0.6% dedicated to information technology.

The ongoing cooperation portfolio between the Ministry and the EBRD amounts to €4.4 billion, financing 106 projects, 58% of which is allocated to the private sector, and 42%to the public sector.

In the private sector, €2.5 billion is dedicated to 93 projects making up for 58% of the portfolio. In the public sector, €1.9 billion is dedicated to 14 projects making up for 42% of the portfolio.

In 2020, Egypt was the EBRD’s largest country of operations in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, accounting for more than €1 billion financing 21 projects; 47% of the bank’s total investments in the region.