Al-Mashat, WB Discuss Enhancing Joint Co-op in Investing in Human Capital

On Monday, the Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat met with Keiko Miwa, World Bank’s Regional Director for Human Development, in the presence of Marina Wes, the World Bank Group’s Country Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti.

During the meeting, they discussed areas of joint cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank and examined national efforts that aim to bolster investment in human capital.

They also underlined the future priorities that come within the framework of the joint cooperation strategy.

This meeting came within the framework of the periodic meetings Minister Al-Mashat holds with multilateral and bilateral development partners, to discuss means of strengthening joint cooperation, and to bolster Egypt’s regional and global economic cooperation; pushing forward Egypt’s development agenda and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During the meeting, they tackled the Government of Egypt’s efforts to enhance people’s lives and to invest in human capital through implementing development projects across various sectors.

Moreover, they reflected on the bilateral meetings held by the World Bank's Regional Director for Human Development with government officials to discuss the framework for joint cooperation.

In addition, they touched upon the future areas of cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank Group in the field of investing in human capital, especially across sectors of health, education, and women empowerment, besides considering means of cooperation in the provision of vaccines.

Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of strategic cooperation with the World Bank Group; explaining that the World Bank has contributed to the implementation of several projects that aim to support the Government of Egypt’s efforts to make people’s lives better.

This includes a development financing intervention worth $500 million to support the country’s efforts to develop the health sector through Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS), as well as social protection and social housing programs.

The Minister noted that investing in human capital comes at the top of Egypt’s priorities to enhance people’s lives, elaborating on the “Decent Life” initiative that aims to develop rural communities.

On her part, Miwa applauded the Ministry of International Cooperation for holding Egypt - International Cooperation Forum (ICF): “Engaging for Impact”, expressing that the discussions held through the forum enrich international cooperation and development financing, and enhances joint cooperation to achieve sustainable development.

She also praised the Government of Egypt’s consistent efforts to combat the COVID-19, to curb the repercussions of the pandemic. She further mentioned that Egypt has also exerted extensive effort to achieve women's empowerment.

The Egypt - International Cooperation Forum (ICF), launched by the Ministry of International Cooperation in its first edition, held a closing panel on “Investing in Human Capital”, where it shed light on the government’s efforts to enhance the people’s livelihoods through the “Decent Life” initiative, as well as the projects implemented across various sectors such as education and social protection.

It is worth noting that the Ministry’s ongoing development cooperation portfolio with the World Bank amounts to $5.8 billion to finance 17 projects across various sectors, including education, health, transportation, social solidarity, petroleum, housing, sanitation, local development, and environment.