Al-Mashat: Egypt, France to Hold Economic Dialogue Soon

Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said Egypt and France will establish a new bilateral economic dialogue in the coming period that covers a full spectrum of sectors in healthcare, energy, technology, agriculture, and transport.

This came during Al-Mashat's meeting with French Ambassador in Cairo Stéphane Romatet to harness new opportunities in the partnership and expand the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and France, which comes under the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Al-Mashat underscored the vibrant model of economic cooperation with France, adding that there are new opportunities to expand the partnership and that the Ministry of International Cooperation is committed to foster dialogue and engagement with France to better respond to changing circumstances and achieve Egypt’s development priorities.

The ministry seeks to apply the principles of economic diplomacy to strengthen the ‘Global Partnerships for Effective Development’. These principles include regularly organizing multi-stakeholder platforms to ensure that all projects between development partners are streamlined and effectively coordinated; adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative People&Projects&Purpose (P&P&P); and mapping ODA financing to SDGs for all projects with multilateral and bilateral development partners.

On his part, Romatet expressed the continued commitment of France to strengthening the economic cooperation with Egypt and praised the role of the Ministry of International Cooperation in promoting further dialogue and coordination.

Al-Mashat reviewed the status of ongoing projects within the framework of the joint memorandum of understanding signed in January 2019 worth one billion euros, including the second tranche of €75 million from the energy sector budget support program worth €150 billion, and a grant worth one million euros, to provide technical support for the electricity and renewable energy sector within the framework of the Energy Sector Budget Support Program.

Earlier in March of this year, a tripartite partnership agreement was signed for the implementation of the technical assistance program for the development of wholesale trade in food markets in Egypt between the government of Egypt, the Agence Française de Development, and the French company Semaris, with a grant of €700,000.

In June 2020, agreements were also signed with the Agence Française de Développement, worth €200 million, to finance, develop and modernize the first line of the Cairo metro alongside a program to support policies of the energy sector.

Additionally, €150,000 also went to providing job opportunities for youth in terms of training and establishing companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The total cooperation portfolio between Egypt and France reaches €7.5 billion, covering various sectors, including transport and electricity, housing, sanitation, health, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, environment, basic and technical education, while the total current portfolio of economic cooperation with France amounts to one billion euros.