Egypt, UK Envision Stronger Climate Co-op Opportunities, Attracting Private Investment

On Sunday, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met with Gareth Bailey — the UK’s Ambassador to Cairo to discuss a number of issues of mutual concern.

The issues in question are Egyptian-British bilateral relations, development cooperation efforts through the British Finance Corporation (CDC), and cooperation in the framework of Egypt’s hosting of the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, promoting innovative financing efforts to support sustainable development plans in Egypt, as well as following up on the results of Al-Mashat’s visit to the UK last month.

At the beginning of the meeting, the minister highlighted her recent visit to the United Kingdom and her meetings with a number of British officials, including Lord Ahmed — the Special Representative of the British Prime Minister and Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs, the United Nations, and North Africa — officials of the CDC, and the Export Credit Agency (UKEF), as well as meetings with climate action institutions and development partners.

Al-Mashat also shed light on developing Egyptian-British bilateral relations by signing a statement to strengthen economic cooperation in January 2020, which resulted in many areas of cooperation, including the renewal of a technical support agreement worth EGP 12n that was implemented through the World Bank.

This is in addition to technical cooperation established with financial authorities in Egypt and ministries in the context of combating climate change, enhancing cooperation in strengthening agricultural value chains, as well as supporting the central unit of public-private partnership at the Ministry of Finance.

Furthermore, the minister pointed out further opportunities for cooperation between Egypt and the UK in the field of climate action and the preparation for the COP 27 — especially after the COP 26 that was held in Glasgow, UK — and the importance of deepening cooperation in the field of innovative financing to stimulate the participation of the private sector and parties concerned with supporting climate action efforts.

Al-Mashat met a number of parties concerned with climate action during her visit to the UK, including the Climate Investment Funds Foundation (CIF) and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment Research at the London School of Economics.

In this regard, she discussed cooperation between Egypt and the UK through the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) that was launched by the UK, which provides technical support worth EGP 19m through various programmes and aims to work with eight emerging markets to support them in developing bankable projects to reduce harmful gas emissions.

The minister also stressed the importance of stimulating efforts to provide innovative financing and blended financing.

Additionally, the discussions touched on the Egyptian government’s efforts to achieve integrated development in the countryside through the Decent Life Presidential Initiative.

The two sides also discussed opportunities to empower women and girls and increase their participation in development efforts, especially the green transformation, as well as future areas of cooperation between the two countries.

On his part, Bayley stressed the distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries and the British government’s keenness to enhance ways of cooperation with Egypt in various fields.