Al-Mashat to Bloomberg: Egypt Seeks to Beef Engagement with Private Sector in 2021

Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said Egypt seeks to scale up its engagement with the private sector in 2021, noting it is expected to be a key theme for the upcoming year.

Al-Mashat's remarks came during her interview with Manus Cranny from Bloomberg TV on Monday morning, the International Cooperation Ministry said in a statement.

With a third of total development financing dedicated to the private sector in 2020, totaling $3.1 billion out of $9.8 billion, Al-Mashat underlined that this is an opportunity to showcase Egypt’s past successes in securing development financing, which in return led to increased confidence and enthusiasm for investors to provide more development financing despite the shortcomings of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To provide a clear picture on the future outlook of multilateralism and analyze the strategic implications of its contributions for Egypt, Al-Mashat stated that multilateralism was vital in helping Egypt march ahead with achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in all of its development projects, which includes a cooperation portfolio with a total of 377 projects worth $25 billion.

[caption id="attachment_193843" align="alignnone" width="1024"] International Cooperation Minister During Her Interview with Bloomberg TV[/caption]

The top three funded sectors are Goal 7 for Affordable and Clean Energy; Goal 9 Industries, Innovations and Infrastructure; and Goal 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, receiving collectively 62% of ODA financing.

For Goal 7 for Affordable and Clean Energy, Al-Mashat referred to the Benban solar park project as evidence of Egypt's engagement with the private sector, which was carried out in cooperation with 45 different private companies. There are currently 34 projects worth $5,950 (M) for Goal 7; 36 projects worth 5,737 USD (M) for Goal 9, and 43 projects worth $4,999 (M) for Goal 6.

"Green growth and environmental initiatives have also recently become a top priority, which aligns global and national priorities, and in return reinforces Egypt’s commitment to deepening its engagement with the private sector to encourage innovation and growth according to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles," the minister added.

"Egypt issued the first green bonds in the MENA region, which also reaffirms its commitment to engage with the private sector and investors in green financing and sustainable development projects," Al-Mashat stated.

The report, titled ‘International Partnerships for Sustainable Development’, tracks Egypt’s progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report draws on the latest available data found in the ministry’s ODA SDG mapping exercise and provides an overview of Egypt’s implementation efforts, highlighting areas of progress and the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on each SDG.