Within the framework of H.E.’s bilateral meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners, at the 58th African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat held a number of bilateral meetings to strengthen economic relations with development partners.
Egyptian-US Relations
Al-Mashat met with Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Development, where the two discussed ways to strengthen joint Egyptian-American relations, and the ongoing efforts to develop multilateral financing institutions to enhance their ability to support development efforts in developing countries. and emerging economies.
The meeting discussed the Egyptian-US relations to support the energy pillar within the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy platform, the NWFE program, the issuance of the political declaration by Egypt, the United States and Germany during COP27, and the US pledges to strengthen the energy pillar to stimulate the country's efforts in shifting towards a green economy.
In this regard, Latortue referred to the importance of the NWFE program as a model that can be replicated in developing countries and emerging economies, in addition to discussing efforts to enhance food security through bilateral partnerships.
The two sides discussed the ongoing measures to develop the role of the World Bank, where they agreed on the importance of these efforts in order to build resilience and support development and growth efforts and in turn develop more effective solutions to end extreme poverty and enhance common prosperity by promoting sustainable, resilient and comprehensive development. This is in line with the bank's main message, which coincides with the selection of a new president for the World Bank Group (WBG).
Al-Mashat pointed to the ongoing efforts, as well as the upcoming summit to be held in Paris next month on the “New Global Financial Pact ”, which aims to strengthen the financial capacity of developing countries and emerging economies, as well as promote the development of the private sector in low-income countries and eventually encourage investment in green infrastructure, and mobilize innovative financing for countries most vulnerable to climate change.
H.E. also stressed the importance of cooperation with the US in strengthening south-south and triangular cooperation for exchanging expertise and enhancing technical support to benefit from development experiences in Egypt, pointing out that in light of the joint political declaration issued at COP27, work is underway to terminate the debt swap program with the German side within the framework of making finance available for the implementation of the energy pillar of the program and mobilize blended funds that stimulate the participation of the private sector in implementing projects.
The Minister stated that Egypt is working with development partners to enhance south-south cooperation, and the ongoing efforts to transfer Egyptian expertise in launching the NWFE program to African countries, and enhance technical support, pointing out that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the WBG are seeking to expand the scope of their work in Africa, and to enhance these efforts, Egypt serves as a gateway to the continent.
It is worth noting that Egyptian-US relations at the economic level have witnessed great development since 1978, with cumulative investments recording about $30 billion. The ongoing portfolio of development cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) since 2014 records about $1 billion, and during the past year, grants worth $160 million were signed in several priority sectors, including education, higher education, health, economic governance, trade, investment and climate action, in addition to a climate initiative worth $15 million.
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