Al-Mashat: Egypt Tops EBRD’s Investments in SEMED Countries

Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat announced that Egypt was the top destination for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s investment in southern and eastern Mediterranean countries which include Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and the West Bank and Gaza.

EBRD's investment in Egypt accounted for more than €1bn of the €2.13bn of the total development financing provided to SEMED countries in 48 projects across the region.

"While the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in development gains globally, it also demonstrated that extraordinary multi-sectoral and collaborative interventions are possible," Al-Mashat stated.

These interventions are evidenced by Egypt’s partnership with the EBRD, which played an indispensable role in building back better to address significant short-term and long-term challenges such as unemployment and climate change.

To kick-start the economy during the pandemic, the EBRD provided €784 million of liquidity lines to local banks for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to protect jobs and help enterprises restart and reshape through the recovery phase.

Building an inclusive, green, and resilient recovery, the bank also provided $12 million loans to Al Hayat Regency for the development of a new hotel in West Cairo, which will generate more than 300 jobs and promote women’s inclusion through a high-quality training program, funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The bank also placed the promotion of green investment as a central pillar in its comprehensive recovery strategy, supporting one of the first green private-to-private projects in the country with an initial $4.2 million loan to TAQA PV for Solar Energy, TAQA Arabia’s renewable energy subsidiary.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of the bank’s operations in 2012, the EBRD has invested over €7.1 billion in more than 125 projects in the country, with a total private sector share of 74%.

According to the annual report by the Ministry of International Cooperation in 2020, the ministry secured development financing agreements worth $9.8 billion during the year; $6.7 billion for financing sovereign projects, and $3.1 billion in support of the private sector.