On Tuesday, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, congratulated the new Ambassador of France in Cairo, Marc Baréty, on assuming his new position.
She also underlined the strategic partnership between Egypt and France that aligns with Egypt’s reform program that interlinks with international roadmaps and the global goals.
Aimed at achieving more sustainable and inclusive growth, Egypt’s partnership with France includes a cross-sectoral collaboration in a number of projects, particularly in infrastructure. Al-Mashat referred to Egypt’s funding agreement worth €50 million ($56.3 million) with the French Development Agency (AFD) to finance the upgrade and development of Cairo Metro’s Line 1, which extends from New Marg station to Helwan station.
The minister also referred to the selection of Egypt to host the United Nations Climate Conference next year in 2022, which positions it as a regional leader to drive green transformation forward, particularly after it launched its National Climate Change Strategy 2050.
Al-Mashat reiterated that the private sector can play a substantial role in promoting innovative financing and scaling up the number of green projects, as well as unlocking new infrastructure opportunities in Africa.
For his part, the Ambassador of France expressed appreciation for the role of the Ministry of International Cooperation in advancing the strategic bilateral relationship between the two countries, which is evidenced by the official visits that occurred between the two sides, particularly the visit of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to France last December, the visit of the Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, to France, in addition to the visit of the French Minister of Finance to Egypt.
The Ambassador of France congratulated Egypt on hosting the United Nations climate conference next year, and that the partnership has embedded environmental priorities in the strategic partnership framework, such as climate change, electric cars and green hydrogen.
He also touched on the upcoming visit of the French Minister of Finance to Egypt in January 2022 to sign a cooperation protocol to finance the supply of 55 trains for the first line, implemented by the French multinational company Alstom, which is the world’s leading company in the field of power generation and transmission, and the establishment of railway infrastructure.
The value of the new financing package amounts to 1.76 billion euros; 776 million euros from the French Treasury, and 990 million euros from the French Development Agency.
The total portfolio of economic cooperation between Egypt and France since 1974 to date has reached 7.5 billion euros in various sectors, including transport, electricity, civil aviation, housing and sanitation, health, agriculture, and irrigation.
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