Al-Mashat Meets EBRD President

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), virtually met with the President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, to discuss areas of joint cooperation within the framework of the bank’s new 2021-2025 strategy and to evaluate proposed topics for annual meetings that will begin towards the end of June.

This comes within the Ministry of International Cooperation’s priorities in strengthening and developing economic cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners, following-up on the ongoing portfolio of projects, and continuously coordinating between relevant entities to ensure achieving desired results across all development projects.

During their meeting, Al-Mashat affirmed the Government of Egypt’s support for the EBRD’s strategy that is aimed at combating climate change and promoting a green economy. The Minister expressed that Egypt is taking extensive measures to achieve a green and sustainable recovery by developing strategies to both combat and mitigate the impact of climate change.

Al-Mashat indicated there are many opportunities for cooperation with the EBRD to implement projects that address climate change in the country, as these projects would represent an important aspect in Egypt’s 2030 vision; catalyzing the launch of smart cities, the coastal areas protection policies, and the promotion of agricultural development.

The EBRD’s 2021-2025 strategy, approved in the annual meeting last October, 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.

Renaud-Basso shared that the EBRD is supporting countries as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating that the bank is interested in expanding its efforts to Africa in the coming period.

In light of the EBRD’s efforts in Africa, Al-Mashat shared that Egypt is one of the bank’s largest countries of operation as this allows for strategic relations with countries across the African continent.

Al-Mashat added that the Ministry of International Cooperation is working to develop economic relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners through its 3 principles of Economic Diplomacy; holding Multi-Stakeholder Platforms to bring all relevant entities onto the same decision making table; developing the first of its kind Official Development Assistance mapping to the UN SDG to track progress in development projects; and communicating through a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at the Core”, “Projects in Action”, and “Purpose as the Driver”.

In April 2021, Al-Mashat met with Renaud-Basso in her first visit to the region since her election in October 2020. During the visit, two memorandums of understanding and a development financing agreement were signed to support the Government of Egypt and the private sector’s transition to a green economy.

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. Egypt was also the largest country of operations for two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019.

The current portfolio of cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD amounts to $1.3 billion. Since 2012, the EBRD has invested over €7.2 billion to implement 127 projects.